Bush Administration Twists Arms for Coke, Pepsi (in India) [View All]

[rodeodance]

http://progressive.org/mag_apb081506


Bush Administration Twists Arms for Coke, Pepsi
By Amitabh Pal
August 15, 2006

The Bush Administration is acting as the muscle for Coke and Pepsi.

The two soft drink manufacturers are under fire in India after a recent report released by a respected environmental group revealed that the colas marketed in that country contain dangerous pesticides, sometimes at alarmingly high levels. (Coke and Pepsi have hotly disputed the conclusions.)
It is warning India of the dire consequences of caring for the well-being of its people.
“The study finds pesticide residues in all samples; it finds a cocktail of 3-5 different pesticides in all samples—on an average 24 times higher than BIS norms, which have been finalized but not yet notified,” the report by the New Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment notes. “The levels in some samples—for instance, Coca-Cola bought in Kolkata—exceeded the BIS standards by 140 times for the deadly pesticide Lindane. Similarly, a Coca-Cola sample manufactured in Thane contained the neurotoxin Chlorpyrifos, 200 times the standard.”

This report was a follow-up to a similar one the same organization did three years ago. At the time, the drink giants questioned the study.

But an investigation by the Indian Joint Parliamentary Committee confirmed the findings and recommended that standards be set up for the soft drink industry. The implementation of the standards has been delayed due to the usual bureaucratic dithering in India......