The Joint Parliamentary Committee(JPC) looking into the issue of pesticides in colas has upheld the findings of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that colas contained dangerous levels of pesticides and has asked the Government to set norms ‘‘at the earliest’’ for ‘‘finished cola drinks,’’ and not just the water they use. The 300-page report, scheduled to be tabled in both Houses of Parliament on February 4, was prepared by the panel headed by Sharad Pawar and comprising 15 MPs from all major political parties. Over five months, the panel heard, besides the CSE, PepsiCo, Cola India, trade representatives and all government bodies connected with water and food safety. Sources said the final draft came after strong debate within the group. ‘‘The JPC is fully committed to public health and this report expresses this concern,’’ said Sanjay Nirupam, Shiv Sena leader and one of the members of JPC. The JPC’s terms of reference were: to see whether CSE findings were correct and what should be the norms for carbonated and other beverages. The JPC has left juices out saying present norms are fine for fruit and vegetable juices. Sources say the key findings of the report: • Although cola companies maintained that there were no standards for finished products anywhere in the world, the JPC has categorically said that let India be the first country to have these standards. • The Ministry of Health has been asked to formulate standards ‘‘at the earliest’’ for carbonated drinks that are not necessarily the stringent European Union and USEPA norms or the more widely accepted CODEX. They have to be ‘‘Indian standards, keeping Indian conditions in mind.’’ • The report indicts cola companies alleging they ‘‘misled’’ the nation by coming out with a series of advertisements claiming their products were safe and contained no pesticides. • Citing Clause 43 in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act that bans advertisement contravening or misleading the PFA Act, the report blames cola companies for their purity claims. • Cola companies have been asked to follow same formulae for their drinks in India as they follow world over. They also have to make available non-caffeinated drinks in the country and have to specify the caffeine content on the label as done in developed countries so that • The report has upheld the Kerala High Court order that ground water is a public property and the government has to compensate for making use of it for commercial gains. This means that when companies use groundwater, they have to compensate for its use and also pay for the mess their waste generated. When contacted, a spokesperson of PepsiCo declined to comment saying the company will wait for the official copy.
