WBPCB survey to ascertain pesticide in soft drinks

KOLKATTA: The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) has taken up a survey to ascertain if soft drinks produced in plants in the state contained pesticides. Speaking at the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI), WBPCB Chairman Sudip Banerjee said the Board had taken the decision on its own on the advice of Environment Minister Mohanta Chatterjee. The report of the survey would be sent to the state government immediately after it was over to facilitate it to take steps. Meanwhile, the state government has started collecting samples from soft drink plants and other places for examination. Agriculture Minister Naren De said yesterday that steps would be taken against soft drink manufacturers, if the samples were found to contain pesticides. The samples would be examined by the Bureau of Indian Standard and Health Department in their laboratories, De said. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Wednesday came out with a fresh study claiming presence of a 'pesticide cocktail' in 11 brands of soft drink giants Coca Cola and PepsiCo.