Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 13: Multinational Cola companies, at the receiving end after allegations of the presence of toxic elements in their products, today got a breather with the chemical analytical laboratories in Kerala giving a clean chit to their soft drink samples with regard to carcinogenic substances.
Health Minister P Sankaran, while replying to a submission by P S Supal (CPI), told the state assembly that the government had received an interim report from the laboratories.
The report stated that the samples did not contain cadmium, while the presence of lead was negligible as compared to the permissible levels.
The minister, however, did not clarify if the samples were tested for the presence of pesticides such as DDT, which the Delhi-based NGO 'CENTRE for Science and Environment' had said were present in popular Coke and Pepsi brands.
Sankaran said the state government would wait for the final report of the Mysore-based Central Food Technology Research Institute before taking a final decision on production and sale of soft drinks by multinational companies. The government expected the final report by tomorrow, he added.

The soft drink samples were sent for chemical analysis following the findings of the Kerala Pollution Control Board (KPCB) that the sludge generated by the Coca Cola's bottling plant at Plachimada in Palakkad district, and distributed to local farmers as fertiliser, contained carcinogenic materials such as cadmium and lead.

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Sankaran had made it clear that the government would not hesitate to stop the functioning of the controversial bottling plant if the soft drink samples from the company were found to be adulterated.

The KPCB carried out the test sampling of the sludge following a BBC radio report recently that the solid waste had unacceptably high levels of cadmium and lead and the use of the material as fertiliser would have a ''devastating effect'' on the local farmers.

Bureau Report