Pepsi, Cola samples taken for chemical analysis

Panaji, Aug 4: The Goa Pollution Control Board authorities here have collected samples of two popular soft drink brands, Pepsi and Coca Cola, from their manufacturing bases for analysis as a precautionary measure, following reports of high level pesticide residues in the drinks.

The authorities collected seven to eight samples each from the Coca Cola factory at the Verna Industrial Estate and Pepsi from its Fatorda factory yesterday for testing the presence of pesticide residues which if consumed for long would badly affect the central nervous system.

''We have collected the samples so as to send them to the approved laboratories either in Bangalore, Mumbai or Delhi following alarm raised by the Delhi-based NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE),'' Board Chairman Dr L U Joshi told UNI here today.

The samples would be sent to other laboratories for analysis due to lack of requisite ampules with standards to test the residual levels of heptachlor and other organochlorines and phosphates at the Board's laboratory at Patto.

''The import of the ampules from the USA takes a lot of time as the orders had to be placed through an intermediary agency in Mumbai for imports,'' Dr Joshi.

Meanwhile, the board had asked the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to sanction Rs 2.35 crores for upgrading the laboratory.

At present, its sophisticated instruments included atomic absorption spectrometre to identify the presence of toxic metals and heavy metals besides checking 40 various parametres in different samples.

The ministry, he said, had just sanctioned a Rs 31.4 lakh project to launch a mobile analytical laboratory and another was due to get the approval through the Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi.

UNI