The Hindu : CSE welcomes JPC report

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Friday, Feb 06, 2004

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CSE welcomes JPC report

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB.5. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) today welcomed Joint Parliamentary Committee report on quality standards for soft drinks, describing it as a "manifesto for action" on issues relating to water quality, pesticide use regulation and the promotion of safety in food products.

Addressing a press conference, Sunita Narain, Director of the Delhi-based NGO, whose finding of pesticide residues in soft drinks samples led to the constitution of the JPC, said: "We are excited with the report. It is a vindication of Indian democracy. It marks a step forward for ensuring better public health and public safety.''

The report, she said, was particularly important as it went beyond the immediate issue of pesticides in soft drinks and has raised the issue of weaknesses in the regulatory system in terms of water quality and approvals for the new pesticides. The CSE hoped the Government would follow up on the JPC recommendations for setting up different standards for different commodities in keeping with their nutritional values and the consumption patterns of the people.

For instance, even while there was a need for stringent standards for soft drinks as also drinking water, same norms could not be prescribed for fruit juices. "The use of pesticides cannot be avoided in agriculture. But some kind of maximum permissible quota could be set out and, by analysing the consumption pattern of the people, this quota could be apportioned among various commodities. There has to be a trade-off between nutrition and poison. What we need is an Indian norm that was based on science, just the way the JPC has recommended.''

The report, she said, was also significant in that it highlighted the issue of caffeine in soft drinks. The JPC was right in recommending that manufacturers should offer both caffeinated and non-caffeinated products, considering that studies had proved that caffeine was not good for children and pregnant and lactating women and that in the United States and several other countries the same companies gave the consumers the option of consuming either version.

The report was also noteworthy for bringing out how a multiplicity of not only authorities but also laws dealing with food safety standards was resulting in laxity in administration and enforcement. The Government must take early measures to implement the JPC recommendation for enacting an integrated food law and for constituting a single authority, considering that presently very often the various agencies dealing with food standards worked independent of each, without any coordination.

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