The Hindu Business Line : The cola muddle

The government should undertake scientific studies on all aspects before imposing outright ban on cola drinks. It can be guided by the findings of the NGO, but should not follow its conclusions blindly.

The recent ban on the manufacture, sale and distribution of cola drinks of two prominent multinational soft drink manufacturers in Kerala raises the question of the regulatory role of the State.

Some time in May 1886, Dr John Pemberton, an American pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia, mixed together some ingredients in a three-legged brass kettle in his backyard.

The resulting concoction, which the good doctor claimed contained "the valuable tonic and nerve stimulant properties of the coca plant and cola nuts," soon metamorphosed into Coca-Cola, perhaps today's largest selling soft drink in the world.

But little did Pemberton realise that he had released a genie into the world. Not only would Coca-Cola assuage the thirst of countless people around the world, it would also spawn a slew of me-too cola drinks - and a flood of criticism from health advocates and, in more recent times, environmentalists.

COLA-BASHING

Thus when the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based environmental non-governmental organization (NGO), recently released a report that claimed that 11 products of the two big cola companies - Pepsi and Coca-Cola - contained pesticide residues much above the permissible level, it was following a tradition of cola-bashing that crosses borders and respects few advertising claims.

But such acceptance does not come easy for some State Governments. The Kerala Government, for instance, slapped a blanket ban on Pepsi and Coca-Cola, following the CSE findings. Other States such as Karnataka, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have barred the sale of these two companies' products in educational and government institutions and hospitals.

For Kerala, the ban is especially significant since both Coca-Cola and Pepsi have bottling plants at Plachimada and Kanjikode in Palakkad district. Not only will the ban affect the workers of these plants and their families, it will also influence industry's perception of Kerala as a welcoming destination for unfettered business.

But that, perhaps, is beside the point since every business, however large and influential, has to operate within the laws of the land and place the public interest above corporate profits.

ROLE OF THE STATE

The really worrisome issue in the cola ban episode, however, is the role of the State. Without conducting its own tests and analyses and by blindly relying on the findings of a private initiative, the State has failed in its fundamental duty of functioning as the ultimate arbiter of what is right and good for its citizenry.

When the government has set up myriad regulatory and testing bodies, including the Bureau of Indian Standards, why should it have to go by the findings of an NGO, however celebrated and professional it may be? Rather, the government should establish norms and standards - of the highest level, even superior to Western standards - and then appoint regulatory bodies to monitor and police them.

HEALTH PROBLEMS

But that is only part of the problem. Even if the cola companies enforce stringent standards and guidelines, other health-related problems are still being hotly debated in Western countries.

"Liquid Candy: How Soft Drinks Are Harming America's Health", a report from the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, says that carbonated soft drinks are the single biggest source of calories in the American diet, providing about 7 per cent of calories; adding in non-carbonated drinks brings the figure to 9 per cent. Teenagers get 13 per cent of their calories from carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks.

Soft drinks are a problem not only for what they contain but also for what they push out of the diet, says the report. In 1977-78, boys in the US consumed twice as much milk as soft drinks, and girls consumed 50 per cent more milk than soft drinks. But by 1994-96, both boys and girls consumed twice as much soda pop as milk.

Heavy soft drink consumption is associated with lower intake of numerous vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre. Several scientific studies have provided experimental evidence that soft drinks are directly related to weight gain. That weight gain, in turn, is a prime risk factor for type II diabetes that for the first time is becoming a problem for the US teens, as well as adults.

STUDIES NEEDED

In the interest of its citizenry, the government should undertake scientific studies on these diverse aspects, before imposing outright ban on cola drinks. It can be guided by the findings of the NGO, but should not follow its conclusions blindly.

And for the cola companies, it behoves them to take serious note of the CSE findings and put their houses in order - without waiting for the government to show them the stick.

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com