Containers carrying the beverages may have to carry a
declaration that the level of pesticide residue is well within applicable
standards
Granting a breather
to Coca-Cola
Co., the Supreme Court on
Thursday refused to interfere with the statutory authority regulating aerated
drinks but cleared the decks for mandating a declaration on containers that the
level of pesticide residue in the drinks was as per permissible limits.
“In light of the legal
regime, we are satisfied that...nothing more can be done by us in the matter,”
said justice R.M. Lodha, heading the two-judge bench hearing the matter. The
court said “soft drink bottles packaged or containers” may be ordered to have a
declaration that “level of pesticide residue is well within the applicable
standards”, as suggested by the Union government.
The court was hearing a
public interest litigation by Sunil Mittal, originally filed in the Rajasthan
high court, seeking a ban on the sale of Coca-Cola drinks citing such contamination.
Hindustan
Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd, the largest bottling partner of Coca-Cola Co.
in India, had argued that the level of pesticide residue in the drinks was
within permissible limits under India’s food safety and standards regulation.
“It does contain
pesticide residue. It (pesticide) is permitted by law,” argued advocate Abhishek
Manu Singhvi, representing the bottler.
Responding to the
judges’ query on the source of such residue, Singhvi said pesticides are
present in the water used in the manufacturing and, hence, form a component of
the drinks.
Coca-Cola India declined
to comment on the matter.
Presence of pesticide
residue in food and beverages is not prohibited as per the current standards
laid down by the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminant, Toxins and Residues)
Regulations, 2011. Permissible quantity of pesticides such as arsenic and D.D.T
are mentioned in the regulation. The rules currently permit pesticide to the
tune of 1 part per billion (ppb) in edible products.
“These are norms that
most large beverage makers are following so it does not make sense (to) say
that permissible levels are already present in a given product,” an industry
expert said on condition of anonymity.
It is now up to the Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Union government to
decide on requiring soft drink companies to add information on pesticide levels
on their containers, he added.
The Union government
made a submission to the Supreme Court that it will take up the issue of
printed declarations with FSSAI, the statutory authority to decide on standards
of food and related matters such as its manufacture, storage and distribution.
Referring to the gamut
of laws and regulations for food products, the apex court bench refrained form
interfering with FSSAI’s authority.
“We do not want to
undertake a dexercise that is to be undertaken by the statutory authority,”
said Lodha. The bench said FSSAI may make a provision that “additional
declaration, (printed) in blocks stating that ‘pesticides are within permissible
limits’ be carried on every pack of carbonated drinks”.
The Rajasthan high court
had earlier directed Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages and PepsiCo
India Ltd to
include on each bottle, package or container of soft drinks a declaration that
the drink did not contain pesticide residue or that it is safe.
The issue pertaining to
presence of pesticides in aerated beverages was first raised by non-profit
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in 2003 when a lab report on soft
drinks sold in India revealed high levels of pesticides and insecticides in
them.
Market leaders Coca-Cola
and Pepsi, CSE claims on its website, had almost similar
concentrations of pesticide residue in their drinks.
This forced the
government to constitute a joint parliamentary committee to find whether CSE’s
claims were valid. CSE says on its website the panel vindicated its findings
and said in a report that it was prudent to seek complete freedom from
pesticides and residuals from carbonated beverages.
Following this, the
health ministry notified standards for pesticides in carbonated water in India.
“The health ministry has established standards for pesticides that can be
allowed in colas and that has been made mandatory. Hence, the (court)
proceedings are infructuous,” said Sunita
Narain,
director general at CSE, referring to the Supreme Court’s decision.
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