Govt panel junks CSE report

The Expert Committee constituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to investigate the Centre of Science and Environment's (CSE) claims of pesticides in colas has disagreed with its findings.

It has also questioned the credibility of the CSE's laboratory, and expressed doubts over its methodology of sampling and testing.

Thus, without saying it in so many words, the committee report has given a clean chit to the cola companies.

In response to a question posed in Lok Sabha today, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss said, "The conclusion of the Expert Committee is that the report of the CSE does not provide conclusive evidence for the presence of different pesticides in the concentration reported."

CSE Director Sunita Narain, in turn, accused the health minister of collusion with the cola companies. Narain went on to say that the expert committee's report was a verbatim copy of UK-based Central Science Laboratory's (CSL) report.

"This time, when the ministry uses the allegations provided to it by the companies to disparage CSE, it is also discrediting its own joint parliamentary committee," she added.

A total of 213 samples had been lifted from 14 states and despatched for testing. "According to the report received from the state of Gujarat, 28 samples have been analysed, and none of these samples have shown presence of any of the pesticides," said Ramadoss.

The minister said there was a need for the sampling of sugar from different geographical regions to assess pesticide residue levels, and pre-empt the possibility of pesticides coming in through sugar "" one of the constituents of soft drinks, apart from water.

"The report of the monitoring study, to be complete by January 2007, would enable the government of India to prescribe composite standards for carbonated water, after following the due process of notification," he said.

As for the CSE, a press release issued by it said: "The statement and the report of the ministry's Expert Committee, which carefully couches criticism of the CSE laboratory, repeats the allegations made by the UK-based CSL."

It went on to add: "This is the same ministry that had blocked the standards for carbonated beverages "" which had been finalised by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) "" from being notified. Even then, the ministry was 'working' for the companies' interest."

In response to the Expert Committee's report and the developments in Parliament today, a PepsiCo spokesperson said, "This will go a long way in reassuring consumers about the quality and safety of our products."

"We have always been confident of the safety of our products. We will continue to work with the ministry of health and Bureau of Indian Standards, the scientific community, and NGOs to establish appropriate science-based norms," said a statement released by Coca-Cola India.