COMPLAINTS UP

Fake soft drinks leave a bad taste in mouth

5% Of Fizzy Drinks Are Spurious, Pet Bottles Are Easiest To Copy

    With summer round the corner, the demand for soft drinks is set to rise. Food safety experts warn that at least 5% of soft drinks that come with a branded label are fakes.
    Sources said that several illegal soft drink manufacturing units are flourishing. They manufacture duplicates of brands such as Coke, Pepsi, 7Up and Mirinda, often filling other liquids in mostly 200ml used bottles of branded drinks. Some others print fake labels on bottles.
    Spurious soft drinks can cause hepatitis, stomach diseases and typhoid, especially in children, said health experts. “They undermine our brand value but the government does not check manufacture of fake drinks,” said the sales representative of a leading cola firm.
    A senior food safety official said: “We have been receiving several complaints about expired and fake soft drinks, but we are short of staff and cannot conduct raids.” The food safety department does not have any data on the number of complaints, raids conducted, samples collected, or test results on samples.
    Spurious drinks are usually sold outside schools and colleges, bus and railway stations, markets and in Tasma shops. Some of the 'filling units' are located in Medavakkam, Padur, Nanmangalam, Keelkattalai and Kovilanchery in Kancheepuram and Poonamallee, Chenerkuppam, Veetalathottam, Alapakkam, Padianallur and Red Hills in Tiruvallur. Sources said many such units start manufacturing soda and switch to cool drinks.
    Small shop owners say selling fakes is more profitable than the real thing. “If we sell a branded soft drink, we get only 30p to 1 per bottle as commission. Local manufacturers pay us Rs 1 to Rs 3,” said a retailer from Teynampet on condition of anonymity.
    “Authorities should regularly inspect both shops and manufacturing units,” said Consumer Association of India trustee R Desikan.
    Aravind Raj, who recently purchased a soft drink from a shop in Tambaram noticed that the cap of the bottle was damaged. “There was no mention of the MRP or expiry date on the bottle. It tasted different but the vendor refused to listen my complaint,” he said.
    Chennai food safety officer S Lakshmi Narayan said: “Action will be taken against violators based on complaints.” Complaints can be made to the food safety department at 044 -23813095 or emailed to commrfssa@gmail.com.