Collateral damage from the cola wars?

August 5, 2006 5:45 PM

In news, this week, are reports of high levels of pesticide found in soft drinks brands from manufacturers, Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola prompting the nickname 'pesti-cola' from some journalists. This is not a new story, with cola sales badly impacted by similar findings three years ago. Not satisfied with the research results, company executives requested more studies - now the amounts of pesticide are even Higher. Company officials also claim that India has no food safety regulations - does this mean a reputable global brand can poison their customers? Ask Union Carbide.
posted by infini (11 comments total)

I'm more worried about benzene in soda, a known problem that so far has escaped the attention of the FDA.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:52 PM on August 5, 2006

This is all happening in India. Where do people get the water for this stuff? Isn't it just from the municipal supply?

The levels were 11.85 parts per billion, but they didn't say what specific pesticides were found, or what the level of toxicity was.
posted by delmoi at 5:52 PM on August 5, 2006

Awful! Checking on just one of the toxins, lindane, in the Indian Pepsi and Coca Cola, I can't help wondering how the hell does a toxic lice treatment get into soda?
posted by nickyskye at 5:56 PM on August 5, 2006

I believe this is called 'repurposing' or 'reframing your brand' in marketing speak. It's much like baking soda sales skyrocketing after someone discovered that it could elminate unpleasant odors.
posted by stavrogin at 6:19 PM on August 5, 2006

To be fair to Union Carbide, the company didn't poision its customers. It poisoned its neighbors.
posted by notyou at 6:39 PM on August 5, 2006

The labs doing the testing are not regulated like they are in the US and they also had political connections, who had political motivation for attacking Coke. I'm not saying there is no pesticide, but there is more to the story. The world has a lot of coke haters.
posted by stbalbach at 7:02 PM on August 5, 2006

Delmoi raises what I think to be the bigger travesty, that Coke is is using up all the water from an area where sanitary water isn't plentiful.
posted by Serial Killer Slumber Party at 7:07 PM on August 5, 2006

Soda isn't good for you.
posted by NationalKato at 11:10 PM on August 5, 2006

Blazecock, do you have any more information that supports that all soda contains benzene? I just pulled out my bottle of coke, and it doesn't list sodium benzoate or ascorbic acid in the ingredients.
I did find a partial list of soft drinks that have that combination.
posted by Iamtherealme at 12:42 AM on August 6, 2006

Or, as this innovative duo have done in the UK, just make your own Coca Cola. Recipe in link.
posted by infini at 11:35 AM on August 6, 2006

Much fizz about nothing?
posted by daksya at 2:39 PM on August 14, 2006