To
everybody's surprise - undoubtedly, to a larger extent the environmentalists' -
The Joint Parliamentary Committee set up some months ago by the Indian
government following allegations by the Delhi-based Centre for Science &
Environment (CSE) that there were pesticides in soft drinks sold in the country,
has confirmed the charge.
The
government-owned Central Food Laboratories in Mysore and Kolkata (Calcutta)
independently analyzed the same 12 brands in which the CSE had detected
pesticide residues, including the presence of organochlorine and
organophosphorous traces.
The
Mysore laboratory detected 0.00132 mg of organochlorine per liter in Coca-Cola
and 0.000008 mg per liter in Pepsi Cola. This was much lower than levels found
by the CSE -- 0.0044mg per liter and 0.0035 mg per liter respectively.
The
parliamentary report stated, “CSE stands corroborated on its finding of
pesticide residues but their quantities vary widely. But these variations can be
attributed to a host of factors like manufacturing locations, date of
manufacture and storage conditions.” It also commended the NGO for being the
first to make these allegations.
A
committee member, Sanjay Nirupam, said, “Consumers have been paying for the
end product, so why are cola firms insisting on setting norms for the
ingredients? The ball is now in the court of the government.”
CSE
Director Sunita Narain expressed how thrilled she was by the committee’s
report. “The committee has endorsed the concerns of public health in the
country and it puts to rest the entire cola companies versus the CSE debate.”
During the heated controversy that surfaced after the original allegations, Ms
Narain was always at pains to emphasize that the focus of its criticism was not
against the soft drinks manufacturers but against the lack of Indian government
standards regarding food and drink.
India
First to Regulate Pesticides in Finished Product
Now,
there has been a volte face with the Indian government being the first in
the world to mandate standards and regulate pesticide residues in the finished
product, according to the CSE. Industrial countries do not face this problem
because both their water and farm commodities are not contaminated with
pesticides as they are in the developing world. The government has announced
that it may set these standards by the end of February itself.
The
parliamentary committee, headed by the veteran political leader Sharad Pawar,
has also asked the government to adopt the global best-practice standards on the
use of caffeine in these drinks. This would go a long way in weaning away young
consumers from what can easily become an addictive habit.
India's
Water Under the Microscope
The
committee has called for an end to the over-exploitation of underground water
for use in cola drinks. Villagers from Plachimada in Kerala state in south India
have protested against such misuse. After the end of the recent World Social
Forum in Mumbai in January, there was a meeting at the village to highlight how
Coca-Cola was withdrawing water to manufacture its drinks and depriving local
people of their basic resources.
The
committee has also demanded standards for clean and potable water. The CSE’s
first investigation was into traces of pesticide in bottled water sold in India.
Since the brands made by Coca-Cola and Pepsi came off best in that report, the
other manufacturers had alleged that the CSE had been paid off to tarnish their
image by these huge multinationals!
Both
Coca-Cola and Pepsi claim that they have not been indicted in the report. “We
are reviewing the committee report,” read a statement from Pepsi. “We share
the government’s interest in protecting consumer health, which is why we have
always produced beverages according to the same high quality standards we use
around the world. We are confident that the safety of Indian consumers can be
ensured by establishing scientific, health-based standards that are consistent
with internationally accepted norms.”
Sunil
Gupta, Vice President for Corporate Affairs in Coca-Cola said: “Our products
made in India are safe and world class. We follow one quality system across the
world. Our products already meet the science-based norms recommended by the
joint parliamentary committee. We look forward to the government finalizing the
scientific norms of the country.”
Despite
these protestations, it seems clear that at present, while adhering to current
Indian government standards, these manufacturers are permitting traces of
pesticide in their colas, which would not be present in industrial countries.
The two cola kings had launched an advertising blitz on TV since the CSE report,
proclaiming how safe their drinks were. These featured India’s leading film
actors.
The
committee itself recognized that the zero pesticide norms applicable in Europe
need not be introduced in India, but added that the two multi-national
corporations, being the biggest players in the market, should set an example.
The
cola companies had sought to include fruit juices within the same parliamentary
scrutiny that was applied to carbonated drinks. However, the committee clarified
that in fruit juices, water was not the main ingredient, whereas more than 80%
of the content of soft drinks is water.
Ms
Narain has explained how excited she was at the response of the members of
parliament. The CSE feared that, given the technical nature of the exercise,
they would not pursue it diligently. As she put it, the NGO assumed that
“their report would be a typical technocratic excise written by so-called
specialists with no political or policy framework."
“But
we were surprised,” Ms Narain said. “We found that it was possible to earn
their respect with information and knowledge. Most importantly, they believed
that these were crucial issues that needed public advocacy and support. To us,
in many ways, this report is all about vindicating India's democracy. Anil
Agarwal (the CSE’s founder who passed away four years ago) always said that we
need to ‘work our democracy’. This is precisely what this report is about.
“This is also a report that has to be read in view of the discourse on
globalization. If globalization has to work, it will demand strong and effective
regulatory systems and, most of all, policy makers prepared to decide in the
interests of all. This report, with its firm indictment of the two largest
companies of the world and their methods of working in the developing world, can
and must become the basis of future action.”
*
Darryl D’Monte is the founder President of the International
Federation of Environmental Journalists and is serving a second term till 2003.
He is also the Chairperson of the Forum of Environmental Journalists of India (FEJI)
and a syndicated columnist and freelance writer. He has published two books:
“Temples or Tombs? Industry versus Environment: Three Controversies”, Center
for Science & Environment, New Delhi, 1985 and “Ripping the Fabric: The
Decline of Mumbai and its Mills”, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002. He
was previously the Resident Editor of the “Indian Express” (1979-1981) and
of the “Times of India” (1988-1994) in Mumbai. Your emails will be forwarded
to him by contacting the editor at: ScienceTech@islam-online.net
