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Make report public before giving ``clean chit``: CSE
New Delhi, Aug 21: The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) today accused the government of giving a ``clean chit`` to Coca-Cola and Pepsico by its announcement that 100 per cent of the soft drink samples tested in approved laboratories conformed to the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) rules in India.
New Delhi, Aug 21: The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) today accused the government of giving a ''clean chit'' to Coca-Cola and Pepsico by its announcement that 100 per cent of the soft drink samples tested in approved laboratories conformed to the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) rules in India.
The fact remained that these fell much short of the European Union (EU) norms and were a public health hazard, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) said.
CSE director Sunita Narain told a news conference here this afternoon that although the test results vindicated the NGO's report early this month, it pointed to the ''weak and non-existant regulations'' that existed in the ''so-called food industry''.
The CSE has demanded that a ''full copy'' of the government report be made public and tabled in the Parliament. Narain said that the government certificate to the MNC giants amounted to its ''trying to convince the public that these soft drinks are safe''.
The fact that health minister Sushma Swaraj had relented that nine of the 12 samples tested were found to contain pesticides and that the newly notified norms for bottled water in keeping with the European Union (EU) norms, belied its statement that the soft drinks were ''well within the current packaged drinking water norms'', Narain said.
CSE director Sunita Narain told a news conference here this afternoon that although the test results vindicated the NGO's report early this month, it pointed to the ''weak and non-existant regulations'' that existed in the ''so-called food industry''.
The CSE has demanded that a ''full copy'' of the government report be made public and tabled in the Parliament. Narain said that the government certificate to the MNC giants amounted to its ''trying to convince the public that these soft drinks are safe''.
The fact that health minister Sushma Swaraj had relented that nine of the 12 samples tested were found to contain pesticides and that the newly notified norms for bottled water in keeping with the European Union (EU) norms, belied its statement that the soft drinks were ''well within the current packaged drinking water norms'', Narain said.
''The government is well aware that the current norms are weak and it is for this very reason that it already amended and notified new and far more stringent standards,'' she said.
Bureau Report