Missing Standards The second report of the Centre for Science and Environment that follows on the first one three years ago delivers an alarming warning regarding the levels of pesticide residue found in the cola samples tested. The five different pesticide residues found in the cola samples collected from across the country and known to cause physical disorders and cancer, exceeded the permissible levels by 24 times on an average. The present study appears more comprehensive than the 2003 one that had located four pesticide residues in the samples collected from Delhi only. The first study came at a time when no clear standards existed for the quantity of pesticides allowed in aerated drinks such as colas, and cola industries operated outside the ambit of any regulation. The 2006 study comes after a series of deliberations by numerous committees and subcommittees set up on the recommendation of a joint parliamentary committee to

FOOD REGULATION

Missing Standards

he second report of the Centre for Science and Environment that follows on the first one three years ago delivers an alarming warning regarding the levels of pesticide residue found in the cola samples tested. The five different pesticide residues found in the cola samples collected from across the country and known to cause physical disorders and cancer, exceeded the permissible levels by 24 times on an average. The present study appears more comprehensive than the 2003 one that had located four pesticide residues in the samples collected from Delhi only. The first study came at a time when no clear standards existed for the quantity of pesticides allowed in aerated drinks such as colas, and cola industries operated outside the ambit of any regulation. The 2006 study comes after a series of deliberations by numerous committees and subcommittees set up on the recommendation of a joint parliamentary committee to “settle” the matter of permissible pesticide residues in such products. The work of the final product committee under the auspices of the health ministry has been mired in issues relating to “raw product” content, for instance, figuring out the pesticide content in sugar which makes up 10 per cent of the cola. For its part, the Drinks and Carbonated Beverages Sectional Committee of the Bureau of Indian Standards had finalised its standards for carbonated drinks in March this year; these standards for some reason, remain yet to be notified. At the same time, the recently passed Food Safety and Standards Bill by Parliament, allows for dual or even overlapping definitions of health standards pertaining to different food products including aerated drinks that could legally let errant companies off the hook.

The cola companies under the aegis of the soft drink manufacturers lobby have predictably rejected the study. One of the companies, in turn, has cited the findings of an UK laboratory that has not only given its products a clean chit but also certified these products as being well within European Union standards. The spate of allegations and counter-allegations that have ensued and the subsequent banning or partial banning of cola drinks by as many as six states have unfortunately transformed the very contours of the issue. The concerned state governments have done little to establish the veracity of these studies, nor have any independent investigations been commissioned. The union health ministry has only recently directed state governments to collect samples of various cola brands for testing. The recent decisions invite comparison with similar occasions in the past when actions by multinationals evoked resentment, whether in Kerala, whose government accused a cola major of unrestrained use of groundwater (the Plachimada controversy) and when cola advertisements were seen to have defaced the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh. The other face of the insecurity that is spawned alongside a “rampant globalisation” was demonstrated by the recent warning issued by the US trade and investment secretary that such arbitrary action could affect future US investment in India. Coke representatives worldover have cited their very conspicuous worldwide presence as the reason why the company has been accused in other countries, especially in the developing world, of interfering with and even despoiling natural resources, for instance, water.

There is little doubt that with greater civic and health awareness, different food companies, multinational or domestic, will have to get their act together. More needs to be done to monitor food standards on an almost universal basis, especially and equally so, for products locally made and arguably more popular in the smaller towns and rural areas, where health standards and facilities are abysmally low. The campaign to secure much-needed concessions from food manufacturers such as notification of ingredients in some products, of expiry date and batch numbers has been hard won but there is greater consumer awareness than before. These, however, have been largely civil society initiated, while the state’s silence on these vital matters continues to be deafening; its negligence clearly visible in the pitiable state of affairs in many Food Corporation of India godowns. The awareness, however, has to percolate to even lower levels, especially in schools, where consumer choices are increasingly being made. The Integrated Child Development Scheme, as part of an umbrella programme, has been successful in Tamil Nadu in providing a nutritious vitamin-rich meal to school-going children and those under six. It could be “upgraded” to impart the necessary “nutrition knowledge” to children to make them aware consumers in their own right. EPW

Economic and Political Weekly August 19, 2006

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Food Regulation: Missing Standards

Missing Standards

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