Cola test results expected this week

Tuesday, 12 August 2003, 19:30 IST
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BANGALORE: The results of tests on Coca-Cola and Pepsi's beverages are expected this week, the director of the institute conducting the tests said. V. Prakash, director of the Mysore-based Central Food and Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), told a television channel: "I hope (the results will be out) in the next four-five days. By then, we will know exactly where we stand." The union health ministry sent samples of the beverages to the institute after a green NGO, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), released a report last week saying Pepsi and Coke's beverages contained high levels of pesticides. Another set of samples has been sent to an institute in Kolkata for testing. Health Minister Sushma Swaraj had announced Friday that she would present the details of the test results to Parliament when it resumes its session on August 13. The samples were received by the institute on Saturday. "We have begun the analysis. There are very well validated procedures for analysing pesticides in food items and this includes soft drinks," Prakash said. The samples sent to the institute have been collected from the same places CSE picked them up from. The report had led to a sharp decline in cola sales across India. Pepsi had filed a litigation in the Delhi High Court against the report. The court ordered Monday that the test results should be made available to the government in the next three weeks.
Source: IANS
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