Kerala Court Overturns Ban On Production And Sale Of Coca-Cola®
September 29, 2006 edition
On September 22, the High Court of the southern Indian state of Kerala lifted a state-wide ban on the production and sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
The court ruled that the Kerala government did not have the authority to enforce the ban, which was imposed in early August following a report from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) alleging Coca-Cola and Pepsi products contained unsafe levels of pesticides. The court said the CSE study could not be the basis for the ban.
On August 22, a federal government-appointed panel said CSE failed to prove its claims, citing inconsistencies in its chemical analysis of soft drinks. Learn more »
The Kerala ban was the harshest across India, where six other states have called for partial or complete bans on Coca-Cola and Pepsi products. The Company hopes the Kerala order will prompt other states to lift restrictions.
Coca-Cola India issued the following statement in response to the Kerala ruling:
We are gratified the High Court of Kerala has set aside the illegal orders of the Government of Kerala and the State Food (Health) Authority dated Aug. 10 and 11, 2006, respectively, banning the manufacture and sale of Coca-Cola in the State.
This order protects the interests of big and small retailers, local entrepreneurs and employees which have been affected by this illegal ban. In response to the interests of consumers in Kerala, we will immediately take necessary steps to make Coca-Cola available across the State of Kerala.
Coca-Cola India has always been completely confident of the safety of its soft drinks in India because they are produced to the same level of purity, regarding pesticides, as the EU criteria for bottled water (globally accepted as one of the most stringent in the world).
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