I am sure that Coca-Cola and PepsiCo officials in India could sleep in a much more relaxed mood for the first time after the cola controversy started. Today, Indian minister of health and family welfare, Anbumani Ramadoss, has stated in the Indian parliament that the there was substantial proof of the allegations against Coke and Pepsi regarding pesticide. Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) brought this allegation 3 weeks ago and since then Coke and Pepsi officials were under immense pressure in India.
"The conclusion of the expert committee is that the report of the CSE does not provide conclusive evidence for presence of different pesticides in the concentration reported,'" said the Indian health minister.
So, getting such clear cup support from the health ministry has perhaps made everything much easier for the two cola giants. However, there are some unresolved issues:
- What will happen to case in the legal court?
- Some Indian states have banned sale of Coke and Pepsi in state run schools and hospitals. Will these state governments now lift the ban?
- How fast can Coke and Pepsi get back consumer confidence?
I think that the last question is the most important one. There is no doubt that consumer confidence has got badly hurt about Coke and Pepsi in India. I must say that consumer confidence suffered so severely because of bad PR tactics by Coke and Pepsi. At first, they were either silent about this matter or did not come out with a clear cut response to the allegation of their products containing pesticide in dangerous level. Instead of trying to prove the quality of their products, these two cola giants attacked Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
Now, since the worst is over, I am sure Coca-Cola and PepsiCo will spend a huge amount of money with their attractive ad campaigns to win back consumer confidence. Well, I would strongly suggest that they pay more attention to the matter of public health. If needed, they should increase the price of their products but they must make sure that their products are completely safe.
In the end, I feel that Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are on the verge of a historic win but the time to celebrate has not come yet.
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It seams that the witch hunt by the CSE against the two international companies is over. The CSE is now proved to have had doubtful methods. An I don’t believe in the CSE’s conspiracy theories that everyone that proves them wrong is paid by their “enemies”
The truth is simple: the CSE did a doubtful study in order to get results they wanted, in order to hurt the two big companies. And now rationality came back into the process.
Thank god!
Reuters: India says Cola pesticide charges not proven
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-08-22T161828Z_01_L22193800_RTRUKOC_0_US-INDIA-COLAS.xml
“ India's health minister said on Tuesday an environmental group that said soft drinks produced by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo contain high levels of pesticides had failed to prove its claims.
But the group, the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) rejected Anbumani Ramadoss's statement and accused him of pandering to big multinationals at the expense of public health.
(…)
Both companies have defended the safety of their products.
Ramadoss said his ministry was seeking more details from the CSE after hearing the view of experts appointed by the government.
"The conclusion of the expert committee is that the report of the CSE does not provide conclusive evidence for presence of different pesticides in the concentration reported," Ramadoss told parliament in response to questions by lawmakers.
He said the expert panel had found several inconsistencies in the chemical information presented by CSE.
Ramadoss said the ministry had directed state-run labs across the country to conduct their own tests on samples of soft drinks and results received so far had either found no pesticide traces or their levels were below statutory limits.”
Posted by: Julius | August 23, 2006 3:42 AM | Permalink to Comment