The Hindu Business Line : CFTRI's cola test results `anytime after Saturday'

THE testing of cola samples for pesticide content is going on at a furious pace and the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) will be completing its mandate "as quickly as possible," according to Dr V. Prakash, Director of the Mysore-based food technology research lab under the CSIR.

Its results could be conveyed any time after Saturday as the CFTRI has been given 7-10 days from August 9 to complete its task . "We have a tough job. We will be giving all the data and tables directly to the Ministry of Health" soon, Dr Prakash told Business Line from Mysore.

The CFTRI got on to the job within two hours after it received coded samples of soft drinks from the Union Ministry of Health last Saturday. The institute does not know the origin or details of these samples, he said.

As an internationally accredited lab adhering to ISO 9001 2001 standards, CFTRI, he said, is using commonly accepted Codex-compliant methodologies.

The Health Ministry is testing the samples based on charges made recently by the Delhi-based NGO, the Centre for Science and Environment, that Indian-made products of soft drinks majors Coca-Cola and Pepsi contain pesticides and insecticides such as DDT and lindane well above acceptable limits.

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