Reuters AlertNet Lite - Indian state challenges lifting of ban on colas

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Indian state challenges lifting of ban on colas

04 Dec 2006 14:09:54 GMT
Source: Reuters

NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - The communist government of the southern Indian state of Kerala on Monday appealed against a court order to lift its ban on Coca-Cola and PepsiCo drinks over allegations they contained pesticides.

The ban imposed in August after the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment said the drinks contained unsafe levels of pesticides was overturned by the state high court in September.

The Kerala government had said it would challenge the order and filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Monday.

"The state government has the power to ban sale of a food product under the food adulteration (prevention) act," the petition said. No date was set for a hearing.

The two U.S. firms have said the ban was unconstitutional and their products were safe to consume.

The controversy erupted when CSE said its tests showed that samples of drinks from both companies across the country had dangerously high levels of pesticides.

A federal government-appointed panel said CSE failed to prove its claims and there were inconsistencies in its chemical analysis of the soft drinks.

But the environment group said it stood by its report, despite the government panel findings and the court verdict.

Besides Kerala's complete ban, six other states have imposed partial bans on Coca-Cola and PepsiCo products by prohibiting sales at or near schools, colleges and hospitals.

At around $1.29 billion, annual sales of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo products in India account for only a minuscule part of their global business but the CSE report and state bans cut into local sales and hurt their reputation among many consumers.

While industry lobby groups have been worried that the ban could damage foreign investment in India, some food scientists have said the row had overshadowed the larger issue of high pesticide content in most Indian foods and drinks.

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Last updated:Mon Dec 4 14:11:58 2006