New Delhi, Aug 22: Relieved at getting the `safe` tag from the government, soft drinks majors Coca Cola and Pepsico yesterday admitted that their sales were affected following the pesticides controversy.
The reactions of the two companies in the thick of a storm ranged from delight to relief but Pepsico said that it did not ``rule out legal action against Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)``,whose findings of tests on the products of Coca Cola and Pepsi had kicked-off the row.
``After the CSE announced its findings, sales of our products at some places went down by 15 per cent. It was a short-term pain. But after mass contact programme, launched by the company, consumers have started coming back,`` Coca Cola India president and CEO Sanjiv Gupta said.
Pepsico India chairman Rajiv Bakshi also admitted that the controversy over the pesticide residues in its products had affected its sales.
While Coca Cola said it would not take any legal action against CSE, Pepsico was open to the idea.



``We want to be positive and would focus on getting customers back,`` Gupta said but Pepsico`s Bakshi said the company was not ruling out legal action against CSE.



Both the companies are also thinking of launching campaigns to win back consumer confidence.



After the clean chit from the government, Pepsico and Coca Cola sought to turn the debate on the whole issue from EU norms to safety.



``With the findings of tests by the government, we can sell Pepsico products anywhere in the world,`` Bakshi said.



Both the companies said that EU norms for packaged water cannot be applied to carbonated drinks as other ingredients also goes into them.


Bureau Report