States take the fizz out of cola

 
Published: Thursday 31 August 2006

-- Centre for Science and Environment's latest findings on pesticides in soft drinks (see 'The street fight', Down To Earth, August 15, 2006) has received an encouraging response across India.

Highlights of some of the measures taken are:

Supreme Court has issued a notice to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to disclose chemical composition of their products

Government has set up an expert committee to fix the maximum residue limits in carbonated beverages, juices

Kerala has banned production and sale of soft drinks

Gujarat has banned sale of soft drinks in all government-run schools and colleges

Madhya Pradesh has banned sale of colas in office canteens and educational institutions

Punjab has banned sale of soft drinks in the Vidhan Sabha canteen

Haryana and Rajasthan have banned colas in over 10,000 government and private institutes

Several schools in Mumbai have banned the sale of soft drinks on their campuses without waiting for the state government's directions

Delhi is also contemplating a ban on the sale of colas in all schools

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