Coca-Cola and Pepsi have faced numerous controversies in India regarding their business practices and products. Studies have found pesticide residues in their drinks exceeding safety limits. Both companies deny these findings. There have also been protests over the companies' exploitation of water resources and negative environmental impacts. Various state governments have taken actions like product bans in response to health and social concerns about cola companies. However, the companies continue to operate in India while facing ongoing opposition and calls for more regulation and transparency.

2. .
Served to the
soldiers
Introduced by John
Pemberton as a
health Tonic to treat
headaches
Entangled in
disputes across Asia
and America.
Accusations were
rejected by Coca-
Cola, which
insists it follows
the highest
ethical standards
and are working
closely to
improve its
practices

3. Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Coca-Cola
Company.
Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine.
It was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton and was bought
out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coca-Cola to
its dominance of the world soft-drink market.
The drink's name refers to two of its original ingredients: coca leaves, and kola
nuts (a source of caffeine).
The current formula of Coca-Cola remains a trade secret; however, a variety of
reported recipes and experimental recreations have been published.
The Coca-Cola Company produces concentrate, which is then sold to licensed
Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world.

4. Coca-Cola’s claim to business ethics reflecting in the following measures it has
initiated.
1. CODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT
 They issued a revised code of business conduct in 2002 to every employee
worldwide.
 Guide company’s actions, protecting values.
2.ENVIRONMENT POLICY
 Protect, preserve and enhance the environment Guided by -Coca-Cola ecosystem.
 Ecologically sound objectives.
 Reducing wastage.
 work with public and private organizations to solve environmental problems.
 Packaging material- minimum environmental impact.

5. Coca-Cola company expects its suppliers to follow the following principles as
suppliers of products and services to the company .
 Built on the Compliance of Perfection
The reputation of the Coca-Cola company is based on trust with consistent set
of values that help them develop better relationship with suppliers.
 Relationships built on good corporate citizenship
The Supplier Guiding Principle Program was introduced to develop good
corporate relationship.
 Shared values, the Foundation of Relationships
It believes that shared values must serve as the foundation for relationship
between them and the suppliers.

6.  Workplace practices
It provides a safe working environment where individuals are treated with dignity
fairness and respect.
 Communication
Guiding principles for suppliers should be provided in the local language and posted
in an accessible place.
 Work environment
The employees are judged based upon their ability to do their job and not upon
their personal characteristics or believes.
 Health and Safety
A safe work place is provided with policies and practices to minimize the risk of
accident, injury and exposure to health risk.

7.  Child and forced labor; Abuse of labor
The company neither support child and forced labor nor does it support abuse or
harassment.
 Wages and benefits
The company provides fair wages to the employees based on the applicable local
and national wage and hour laws.
 Collective Bargaining
The company expects their suppliers not to retaliate against their employees for
the lawful participation in labor organization activities.

8.  Coca-Cola has put several safeguards to help ensure compliance. They include the
expectation that managers should promote a culture of ethics and compliance. This is
by ensuring that the people are supervised to help understand their responsibilities
within the code of ethics and other relevant policies. In the Coca-Cola’s code of ethics,
corporate social responsibility has not been specifically defined, but its proponents
have been included.
• THE RULES AND REGULATIONS ARE:
CHILD LABOUR: Suppliers will not use child labour as defined by local laws.
FORCED LABOUR: Supplier will no use forced or compulsory labour.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: Respect employees right to choose whether to be
represented by third parties and to bargain collectively in accordance with local laws.
WAGES AND BENEFITS: Wages and benefit will comply with laws.

9.  WORKING HOURS AND OVERTIME:
Working hours and over-time will comply with local laws.
 HEALTH AND SAFETY:
Working conditions will comply with local regulation.
 ENVIRONMENT:
Suppliers will comply with all applicable environmental laws.
 ABUSE OF LABOUR:
Supplier will not physically abuse labor.

10. 1.LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
What if the companies are not listed on the stock exchanges and there is no
accountability to the investors? Companies ranging from Cadburys to Philips have de-
listed themselves and some major Indian MNCs like Pepsi and Coke have chosen to stay
away from the Indian Stock Exchanges.
 Only if they are listed they will have to adhere to Clause 49 of the Listing agreement,
under which they have to abide by corporate governance practices such as integrity,
transparency, full disclosure of financial and non-financial information, etc.
 In fact, fear of disclosure may be one of the reasons why Coke is reluctant in coming out
with an IPO for more than past 10 years despite tremendous pressure from the
government.
P.T.O.

11. 2.LACK OF ETHICS IN MARKETING
MNCs such as Pepsi and coca cola have been accused of adopting unethical
marketing practices such as –
 Offering products/services against the broader interests of the society.
 Discriminatory pricing: Uniform pricing is not followed and some customers end up
paying more than others for the same product/service.
 Making tall claims in advertising.
 Deceptive sales promotion.
 Targeting inappropriate audiences such as children who are gullible and quick to
develop brand loyalty.
3.UNHEALTHY PRACTICES
In India, Coca Cola has provoked a number of boycotts and protests as a result of its
perceived low health and hygiene standards and adverse impact on the environment.

12. 4.UNHEALTHY NATURE OF COLAS
 The Food and Drug Administration (FDI) in Mumbai has advised schools to ban the sale
of colas, and also prevent any advertisement of aerated deinks in their premises.
 FDA Commissioner Ramesh Kumar warned that soft drinks cause obesity and tooth
decay, besides posing other health risks due to the presence of chemicals, MNCs such as
Lindane.
 a confirmed cancer-causing chemical, Malathion, DDT and chlorpyrifos.
5. PRACTICAL INIMICAL TO STAKEHOLDER INTERESTS
a) CHALLENGED AT SHAREHOLDERS MEETING: The Coca cola Company came under
attack on 20 April 2006 at its shareholder meeting for not disclosing the full extent of
the liabilities the company has incurred in India. The company was challenged for
misleading its shareholders.

13. b) MISLEADING PUBLIC ON WATER ISSUES:
The Coca Cola places full page advertisements in campus papers across US- suggesting
that the company is a leading steward of water resources but facts is very different to
what the company says, especially in developing countries like India and Colombia.
c) UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ACTS AGAINST COCA-COLA:
In a massive victory for the campaign to hold Coca-Cola accountable, the University of
Michigan has suspended business with Coca-Cola Company in December 2005 because
of the company’s egregious human rights and environmental practices in India and
Colombia.
d) SPEAKING TOUR ACTION AGAINST COCA-COLA:
From 4th to 19th April, 2005 a speaking tour to hold Coca-Cola accountable was held
through public events on the East Coast including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts
and Philadelphia to bring attention to Coca-Cola’s Crimes against humanity, particularly
in Colombia and India.

14. e) COCA-COLA CHALLENGED ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES – From 1993, Cola-Cola has
been accused of unethical practices in India; in response, several non-governmental
organizations have launched anti-Coca-Cola Campaigns in India.
6. FOREIGN PARTICLES FOUND IN BOTTLES
The notorious discovery of a dead lizard inside a sealed Coca-Cola bottle was widely
publicized all over the country.
Other foreign particles also have been found in Coke bottles, but the company put
blame on the distributors and dealers for these occurrences.
7. VERY LOW COMPENSATION PAID TO THE USE OF RESOURCES
The Cola Companies have been over-exploiting the country’s ground water by paying
pittance to the society, while they make millions. Despite using ground-water as the
principal ingredient for its products. They only pay a marginal water cess on the raw
material.

15. 8) EXCESSIVE WATER USAGE
It has been alleged by the farmers in several Indian States that Coca-Cola’s
tremendous need for water has caused severe water shortage causing crop failures.
The Company uses three times as much water to produce a liter of coke.
Coca-Cola’s answer to these allegations has been quite positive. They started rain
water harvesting projects in 26 of their plants. This has reduced water use by 25 % and
the water saved has been made available to water-starved villages nearby.
 KERALA
Protest against Coca-Cola: On 15 January 2005, over a thousand people took part in
blockading the entrance to Coca-Cola’s single largest bottling pant in India- at
Plachimada, Kerala – to demand that the bottling plant should be shutdown
permanently. Since it was set up in 1998, Local villages have been complaining about
depleting water levels for their cultivation.

16.  TAMIL NADU
Water wars and bottle battles: On 24 May 2005 another community in India,
Gangaikondan in Tamil Nadu, decided that it did not want a Coca-Cola bottling
plant. They claimed that such plant has no place in community where drinking
water and agricultural requirements are not currently being met.
 RAJASTHAN
Major rally against Coca-Cola in Rajasthan: Over 1500 villages marched to shut
down Coca-Cola’s bottling plant in Kala Dera in Rajasthan on 12 December 2005
accusing the company of depleting water and polluting the water and soil.
 MAHARASHTRA
There have been agitations against the Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages factory at
Kudus village in Wada taluka, Thane district in Maharashtra. Farmers complain
that the much-needed water from Vaitarna river for agriculture in the area is
being sold cheaply to the cola company.

17.  UTTAR PRADESH
Protests against Coca-Cola: Uttar Pradesh community leaders from Mehdiganj in
north India began a hinger strike in November 2005 to demand the closure of the
Coca-Cola bottling plant. They accused the bottling plant in Mehdiganj of creating
severe water shortages affecting over twenty villages, polluting agricultural land
and groundwater, illegally occupying land, evading taxes and treating workers
unfairly.

18.  PepsiCo is another American cola company .
 PepsiCo was founded by Don Kendall in 1898.
 The company became PepsiCo only after it merged with Frito lay in 1965.
 The company sells variety of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages and after
merger salty ,sugar snacks also.
 PepsiCo gained entry to India in 1988 by creating a joint venture with the Punjab
government owned Punjab Agro industrial corporation (PAIC)and Voltas India
limited. This joint venture marketed and sold Lehar Pepsi until 1991.It came out of
joint venture in 1994.

19.  Indra Nooyi served as the company's CEO (2006–18) and chairman of the board (2007–
19).
 Ramon L. Laguarta is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive
Officer of PepsiCo (2018- present).
PepsiCo was clubbed with Coco-Cola in the pesticide controversy both of them are bitter
business rivals, but they fought together.

20.  In 2003, the center for science and Environment(CSE), an NGO in New Delhi,
contended that MNCs like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola contained toxins including
lindane, DDT that contribute to diseases like cancer .
 CSE found that PepsiCo soft drink product of Pepsi had 36 times and Coca-Cola has
30 times the level of pesticide residues permitted by EU regulations and CSE tested
in same product in US and found no residuals.
 PepsiCo and Coca-Cola denied and said CSE study is unscientific and biased.
 Coke accused CSE director general Sunita Narain of ‘brandjacking’ , to spoil the
reputation of coke’s brand name.

21.  In a matter of only 2 – 3 weeks the sale of Coca Cola dropped by 15 %.
 After political storm Joint Parliamentary committee report lauding CSE for its ‘whistle-
blowing act’ and said that soft drink companies are unregulated and Maximum
Residue Levels was not fixed pesticides.
 After CSE exposed in their study ,health ministry moved put MRL for packaged water.
 Ministry of consumers affairs has mandatory rules under the Food Safety and
Standards Act, 2006. The BIS has draft standards, which are stricter– 0.1 ppb for
individual pesticides and 0.5 ppb for total pesticide residues. The soft drink industry is
following the less stringent mandatory norms.

22.  Coco-cola and Pepsi have continued to sell soft drinks in India with high levels
of pesticides.
 CSE tested 57 samples of coca cola and PepsiCo carbonated products from 25
different bottling plants across 12 states and found pesticides in all samples.
Pesticide residues were 24 time higher than EU standards, BIS.
 The company say that milk and vegetables packed contain more pesticides
than colas.
 The Coca-Cola got clean chit from TERI(The Energy and Recourses institute ) in
an independent audit headed by UN’S top climate scientist R .K Pachauri no
pesticides was found.

23. •.
 Coco-Cola and Pepsi claim that they meet to all Indian and international standards.
 The companies refused CSE studies as unscientific and biased.
 They point out that nowhere in the world are MRLs of pesticides fixed for a finished
product as is being done in India.
 Cola argue that milk are 3,080 times , vegetables 69,700 time, fruits 1,11,600 times
than permissible levels.
 Coca cola has got a clean chit from TERI (the Energy and Resource Institute) that
they did not find pesticides in the water used for making soft drinks.

24.  In the wake of 2006 pesticide residue controversy brought to light by the CSE
study, the battle line have been clearly drawn on predictable line. On the one
side there is the CSE report highlighting exceeding levels of pesticide residues in
soft drinks and on the opposite end along with Coca-Cola, arch rivals PepsiCo,
Indian Soft Drinks Manufacturers Association ISDMA, chambers of commerce
like CII and FICCI and murmurs of protest from American establishment.
 PepsiCo joined Coca-Cola in refusing to accept the findings of CSE as unscientific
and discriminatory.
 ISDMA reiterated that all manufacturers are strictly adhering to all the stringent
norms and working with various regulatory bodies such as Union Ministry of
Health, BIS, scientific community and NGOs.
 Chambers of Commerce consider it as witch hunting because the restrictions in
India would mean Indian exporters will face difficulties in U.S soil.

25. American Ambassador to India, David C. Mulford has cautioned that actions
against cola companies may adversely affect American investments in India.
POSTSCRIPT
The 8 member expert committee, headed by D.Kanungo ,reviewed the CSE
report on pesticide in soft drinks has rejected its findings twice. The
committee said it cannot be accepted 'on face value' and the laboratory where
the tests were conducted "does not demonstrate the competence of the
laboratory to produce technically valid data and results". Also the sampling
procedure followed doesn't mention the quantity of each sample taken.
CSE claims that the quantity of sample was 500ml, which was sufficient to give
clear quantifiable results.

26. These controversies show that most soft drinks in the market are alleged to have
dangerous chemicals and pesticides such as-
1. Lindane
2. DDT
3. Malathion
4. Chlorpyrifos
in quantities higher than the stipulated limits.
States such as Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan have banned its
sale in schools, educational institution, government offices and canteens.
The Kerala government has banned the production and sale of soft drinks on Aug 10
2006, which was later turned down by the High Court.

27.  Currently PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court, which in turn asked
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to name all the ingredients in the beverage.
 In short, once in a while this kind of heat is generated and very soon it
subsides, without offering a lasting solution. the government and
bureaucrats have failed miserably in their duty to find an answer to this
problem.

28.  Coca-Cola plans to double volumes in five years aided by less sugary
drinks.
Coke , Pepsi , Besleri ,fined for violating plastic waste disposal rules.
Challenges remains in India but recovery signs in away-from-home:
Coca-Cola.

29.  Do you think MNCs like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo seem to adopt different standards
when it comes to the use of materials in their soft drinks- a high standard of inputs
for developed countries and poor quality material for developing countries ?
I don’t think MNCs like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo seem to adopt different standards
when it comes to the use of materials in their soft drinks. They should not use a
high standard of in puts for developed countries like Europe, America and poor
quality materials for developing countries like India, Columbia. This discriminatory
approach is quite unethical. Standards are supposed to be universal regardless of
whether or not the developing countries enforce these standards or not. This
should be done so as to safeguard the health of the consumers. At the end of the
day it is the consumer's wellbeing that has to matter and not the profit margins.
Any company that ignores standards simply because the government is not
watching, there by threatening the lives of the consumers lacks ethics.

30.  Having gone through the Cola case study , would you advocate that the government
of India bans these soft drinks forever ?
After going through Cola case study, the main drawback which Coca-Cola is facing is
going against environment or exploiting environment. The company is using fresh
water in such a large quantity where there is a crisis for fresh drinking water . Apart
from that, due to its waste discharge they have been spoiling the water and soil.
Therefore farmers are facing numerous problems with their crops. Because of these
reasons Coca-Cola is facing problems in India. These problems are indirectly affecting
the life of the people staying nearby to the manufacturing plant. Apart from this
culture is the most important factor which company should keep in mind for further
development. Yes, I would advocate that the government should ban these types of
soft drink company from making huge profit by use of poor quality materials for
human consumption.

34. .
Served to the
soldiers
Introduced by John
Pemberton as a
health Tonic to treat
headaches
Entangled in
disputes across Asia
and America.
Accusations were
rejected by Coca-
Cola, which
insists it follows
the highest
ethical standards
and are working
closely to
improve its
practices

35. Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Coca-Cola
Company.
Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine.
It was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton and was bought
out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coca-Cola to
its dominance of the world soft-drink market.
The drink's name refers to two of its original ingredients: coca leaves, and kola
nuts (a source of caffeine).
The current formula of Coca-Cola remains a trade secret; however, a variety of
reported recipes and experimental recreations have been published.
The Coca-Cola Company produces concentrate, which is then sold to licensed
Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world.

36. Coca-Cola’s claim to business ethics reflecting in the following measures it has
initiated.
1. CODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT
 They issued a revised code of business conduct in 2002 to every employee
worldwide.
 Guide company’s actions, protecting values.
2.ENVIRONMENT POLICY
 Protect, preserve and enhance the environment Guided by -Coca-Cola ecosystem.
 Ecologically sound objectives.
 Reducing wastage.
 work with public and private organizations to solve environmental problems.
 Packaging material- minimum environmental impact.

37. Coca-Cola company expects its suppliers to follow the following principles as
suppliers of products and services to the company .
 Built on the Compliance of Perfection
The reputation of the Coca-Cola company is based on trust with consistent set
of values that help them develop better relationship with suppliers.
 Relationships built on good corporate citizenship
The Supplier Guiding Principle Program was introduced to develop good
corporate relationship.
 Shared values, the Foundation of Relationships
It believes that shared values must serve as the foundation for relationship
between them and the suppliers.

38.  Workplace practices
It provides a safe working environment where individuals are treated with dignity
fairness and respect.
 Communication
Guiding principles for suppliers should be provided in the local language and posted
in an accessible place.
 Work environment
The employees are judged based upon their ability to do their job and not upon
their personal characteristics or believes.
 Health and Safety
A safe work place is provided with policies and practices to minimize the risk of
accident, injury and exposure to health risk.

39.  Child and forced labor; Abuse of labor
The company neither support child and forced labor nor does it support abuse or
harassment.
 Wages and benefits
The company provides fair wages to the employees based on the applicable local
and national wage and hour laws.
 Collective Bargaining
The company expects their suppliers not to retaliate against their employees for
the lawful participation in labor organization activities.

40.  Coca-Cola has put several safeguards to help ensure compliance. They include the
expectation that managers should promote a culture of ethics and compliance. This is
by ensuring that the people are supervised to help understand their responsibilities
within the code of ethics and other relevant policies. In the Coca-Cola’s code of ethics,
corporate social responsibility has not been specifically defined, but its proponents
have been included.
• THE RULES AND REGULATIONS ARE:
CHILD LABOUR: Suppliers will not use child labour as defined by local laws.
FORCED LABOUR: Supplier will no use forced or compulsory labour.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: Respect employees right to choose whether to be
represented by third parties and to bargain collectively in accordance with local laws.
WAGES AND BENEFITS: Wages and benefit will comply with laws.

41.  WORKING HOURS AND OVERTIME:
Working hours and over-time will comply with local laws.
 HEALTH AND SAFETY:
Working conditions will comply with local regulation.
 ENVIRONMENT:
Suppliers will comply with all applicable environmental laws.
 ABUSE OF LABOUR:
Supplier will not physically abuse labor.

42. 1.LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
What if the companies are not listed on the stock exchanges and there is no
accountability to the investors? Companies ranging from Cadburys to Philips have de-
listed themselves and some major Indian MNCs like Pepsi and Coke have chosen to stay
away from the Indian Stock Exchanges.
 Only if they are listed they will have to adhere to Clause 49 of the Listing agreement,
under which they have to abide by corporate governance practices such as integrity,
transparency, full disclosure of financial and non-financial information, etc.
 In fact, fear of disclosure may be one of the reasons why Coke is reluctant in coming out
with an IPO for more than past 10 years despite tremendous pressure from the
government.
P.T.O.

43. 2.LACK OF ETHICS IN MARKETING
MNCs such as Pepsi and coca cola have been accused of adopting unethical
marketing practices such as –
 Offering products/services against the broader interests of the society.
 Discriminatory pricing: Uniform pricing is not followed and some customers end up
paying more than others for the same product/service.
 Making tall claims in advertising.
 Deceptive sales promotion.
 Targeting inappropriate audiences such as children who are gullible and quick to
develop brand loyalty.
3.UNHEALTHY PRACTICES
In India, Coca Cola has provoked a number of boycotts and protests as a result of its
perceived low health and hygiene standards and adverse impact on the environment.

44. 4.UNHEALTHY NATURE OF COLAS
 The Food and Drug Administration (FDI) in Mumbai has advised schools to ban the sale
of colas, and also prevent any advertisement of aerated deinks in their premises.
 FDA Commissioner Ramesh Kumar warned that soft drinks cause obesity and tooth
decay, besides posing other health risks due to the presence of chemicals, MNCs such as
Lindane.
 a confirmed cancer-causing chemical, Malathion, DDT and chlorpyrifos.
5. PRACTICAL INIMICAL TO STAKEHOLDER INTERESTS
a) CHALLENGED AT SHAREHOLDERS MEETING: The Coca cola Company came under
attack on 20 April 2006 at its shareholder meeting for not disclosing the full extent of
the liabilities the company has incurred in India. The company was challenged for
misleading its shareholders.

45. b) MISLEADING PUBLIC ON WATER ISSUES:
The Coca Cola places full page advertisements in campus papers across US- suggesting
that the company is a leading steward of water resources but facts is very different to
what the company says, especially in developing countries like India and Colombia.
c) UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ACTS AGAINST COCA-COLA:
In a massive victory for the campaign to hold Coca-Cola accountable, the University of
Michigan has suspended business with Coca-Cola Company in December 2005 because
of the company’s egregious human rights and environmental practices in India and
Colombia.
d) SPEAKING TOUR ACTION AGAINST COCA-COLA:
From 4th to 19th April, 2005 a speaking tour to hold Coca-Cola accountable was held
through public events on the East Coast including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts
and Philadelphia to bring attention to Coca-Cola’s Crimes against humanity, particularly
in Colombia and India.

46. e) COCA-COLA CHALLENGED ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES – From 1993, Cola-Cola has
been accused of unethical practices in India; in response, several non-governmental
organizations have launched anti-Coca-Cola Campaigns in India.
6. FOREIGN PARTICLES FOUND IN BOTTLES
The notorious discovery of a dead lizard inside a sealed Coca-Cola bottle was widely
publicized all over the country.
Other foreign particles also have been found in Coke bottles, but the company put
blame on the distributors and dealers for these occurrences.
7. VERY LOW COMPENSATION PAID TO THE USE OF RESOURCES
The Cola Companies have been over-exploiting the country’s ground water by paying
pittance to the society, while they make millions. Despite using ground-water as the
principal ingredient for its products. They only pay a marginal water cess on the raw
material.

47. 8) EXCESSIVE WATER USAGE
It has been alleged by the farmers in several Indian States that Coca-Cola’s
tremendous need for water has caused severe water shortage causing crop failures.
The Company uses three times as much water to produce a liter of coke.
Coca-Cola’s answer to these allegations has been quite positive. They started rain
water harvesting projects in 26 of their plants. This has reduced water use by 25 % and
the water saved has been made available to water-starved villages nearby.
 KERALA
Protest against Coca-Cola: On 15 January 2005, over a thousand people took part in
blockading the entrance to Coca-Cola’s single largest bottling pant in India- at
Plachimada, Kerala – to demand that the bottling plant should be shutdown
permanently. Since it was set up in 1998, Local villages have been complaining about
depleting water levels for their cultivation.

48.  TAMIL NADU
Water wars and bottle battles: On 24 May 2005 another community in India,
Gangaikondan in Tamil Nadu, decided that it did not want a Coca-Cola bottling
plant. They claimed that such plant has no place in community where drinking
water and agricultural requirements are not currently being met.
 RAJASTHAN
Major rally against Coca-Cola in Rajasthan: Over 1500 villages marched to shut
down Coca-Cola’s bottling plant in Kala Dera in Rajasthan on 12 December 2005
accusing the company of depleting water and polluting the water and soil.
 MAHARASHTRA
There have been agitations against the Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages factory at
Kudus village in Wada taluka, Thane district in Maharashtra. Farmers complain
that the much-needed water from Vaitarna river for agriculture in the area is
being sold cheaply to the cola company.

49.  UTTAR PRADESH
Protests against Coca-Cola: Uttar Pradesh community leaders from Mehdiganj in
north India began a hinger strike in November 2005 to demand the closure of the
Coca-Cola bottling plant. They accused the bottling plant in Mehdiganj of creating
severe water shortages affecting over twenty villages, polluting agricultural land
and groundwater, illegally occupying land, evading taxes and treating workers
unfairly.

50.  PepsiCo is another American cola company .
 PepsiCo was founded by Don Kendall in 1898.
 The company became PepsiCo only after it merged with Frito lay in 1965.
 The company sells variety of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages and after
merger salty ,sugar snacks also.
 PepsiCo gained entry to India in 1988 by creating a joint venture with the Punjab
government owned Punjab Agro industrial corporation (PAIC)and Voltas India
limited. This joint venture marketed and sold Lehar Pepsi until 1991.It came out of
joint venture in 1994.

51.  Indra Nooyi served as the company's CEO (2006–18) and chairman of the board (2007–
19).
 Ramon L. Laguarta is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive
Officer of PepsiCo (2018- present).
PepsiCo was clubbed with Coco-Cola in the pesticide controversy both of them are bitter
business rivals, but they fought together.

52.  In 2003, the center for science and Environment(CSE), an NGO in New Delhi,
contended that MNCs like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola contained toxins including
lindane, DDT that contribute to diseases like cancer .
 CSE found that PepsiCo soft drink product of Pepsi had 36 times and Coca-Cola has
30 times the level of pesticide residues permitted by EU regulations and CSE tested
in same product in US and found no residuals.
 PepsiCo and Coca-Cola denied and said CSE study is unscientific and biased.
 Coke accused CSE director general Sunita Narain of ‘brandjacking’ , to spoil the
reputation of coke’s brand name.

53.  In a matter of only 2 – 3 weeks the sale of Coca Cola dropped by 15 %.
 After political storm Joint Parliamentary committee report lauding CSE for its ‘whistle-
blowing act’ and said that soft drink companies are unregulated and Maximum
Residue Levels was not fixed pesticides.
 After CSE exposed in their study ,health ministry moved put MRL for packaged water.
 Ministry of consumers affairs has mandatory rules under the Food Safety and
Standards Act, 2006. The BIS has draft standards, which are stricter– 0.1 ppb for
individual pesticides and 0.5 ppb for total pesticide residues. The soft drink industry is
following the less stringent mandatory norms.

54.  Coco-cola and Pepsi have continued to sell soft drinks in India with high levels
of pesticides.
 CSE tested 57 samples of coca cola and PepsiCo carbonated products from 25
different bottling plants across 12 states and found pesticides in all samples.
Pesticide residues were 24 time higher than EU standards, BIS.
 The company say that milk and vegetables packed contain more pesticides
than colas.
 The Coca-Cola got clean chit from TERI(The Energy and Recourses institute ) in
an independent audit headed by UN’S top climate scientist R .K Pachauri no
pesticides was found.

55. •.
 Coco-Cola and Pepsi claim that they meet to all Indian and international standards.
 The companies refused CSE studies as unscientific and biased.
 They point out that nowhere in the world are MRLs of pesticides fixed for a finished
product as is being done in India.
 Cola argue that milk are 3,080 times , vegetables 69,700 time, fruits 1,11,600 times
than permissible levels.
 Coca cola has got a clean chit from TERI (the Energy and Resource Institute) that
they did not find pesticides in the water used for making soft drinks.

56.  In the wake of 2006 pesticide residue controversy brought to light by the CSE
study, the battle line have been clearly drawn on predictable line. On the one
side there is the CSE report highlighting exceeding levels of pesticide residues in
soft drinks and on the opposite end along with Coca-Cola, arch rivals PepsiCo,
Indian Soft Drinks Manufacturers Association ISDMA, chambers of commerce
like CII and FICCI and murmurs of protest from American establishment.
 PepsiCo joined Coca-Cola in refusing to accept the findings of CSE as unscientific
and discriminatory.
 ISDMA reiterated that all manufacturers are strictly adhering to all the stringent
norms and working with various regulatory bodies such as Union Ministry of
Health, BIS, scientific community and NGOs.
 Chambers of Commerce consider it as witch hunting because the restrictions in
India would mean Indian exporters will face difficulties in U.S soil.

57. American Ambassador to India, David C. Mulford has cautioned that actions
against cola companies may adversely affect American investments in India.
POSTSCRIPT
The 8 member expert committee, headed by D.Kanungo ,reviewed the CSE
report on pesticide in soft drinks has rejected its findings twice. The
committee said it cannot be accepted 'on face value' and the laboratory where
the tests were conducted "does not demonstrate the competence of the
laboratory to produce technically valid data and results". Also the sampling
procedure followed doesn't mention the quantity of each sample taken.
CSE claims that the quantity of sample was 500ml, which was sufficient to give
clear quantifiable results.

58. These controversies show that most soft drinks in the market are alleged to have
dangerous chemicals and pesticides such as-
1. Lindane
2. DDT
3. Malathion
4. Chlorpyrifos
in quantities higher than the stipulated limits.
States such as Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan have banned its
sale in schools, educational institution, government offices and canteens.
The Kerala government has banned the production and sale of soft drinks on Aug 10
2006, which was later turned down by the High Court.

59.  Currently PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court, which in turn asked
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to name all the ingredients in the beverage.
 In short, once in a while this kind of heat is generated and very soon it
subsides, without offering a lasting solution. the government and
bureaucrats have failed miserably in their duty to find an answer to this
problem.

60.  Coca-Cola plans to double volumes in five years aided by less sugary
drinks.
Coke , Pepsi , Besleri ,fined for violating plastic waste disposal rules.
Challenges remains in India but recovery signs in away-from-home:
Coca-Cola.

61.  Do you think MNCs like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo seem to adopt different standards
when it comes to the use of materials in their soft drinks- a high standard of inputs
for developed countries and poor quality material for developing countries ?
I don’t think MNCs like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo seem to adopt different standards
when it comes to the use of materials in their soft drinks. They should not use a
high standard of in puts for developed countries like Europe, America and poor
quality materials for developing countries like India, Columbia. This discriminatory
approach is quite unethical. Standards are supposed to be universal regardless of
whether or not the developing countries enforce these standards or not. This
should be done so as to safeguard the health of the consumers. At the end of the
day it is the consumer's wellbeing that has to matter and not the profit margins.
Any company that ignores standards simply because the government is not
watching, there by threatening the lives of the consumers lacks ethics.

62.  Having gone through the Cola case study , would you advocate that the government
of India bans these soft drinks forever ?
After going through Cola case study, the main drawback which Coca-Cola is facing is
going against environment or exploiting environment. The company is using fresh
water in such a large quantity where there is a crisis for fresh drinking water . Apart
from that, due to its waste discharge they have been spoiling the water and soil.
Therefore farmers are facing numerous problems with their crops. Because of these
reasons Coca-Cola is facing problems in India. These problems are indirectly affecting
the life of the people staying nearby to the manufacturing plant. Apart from this
culture is the most important factor which company should keep in mind for further
development. Yes, I would advocate that the government should ban these types of
soft drink company from making huge profit by use of poor quality materials for
human consumption.