The Hindu : Strict quality norms for soft drinks likely

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 14, 2004

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National

Strict quality norms for soft drinks likely

By P. Sunderarajan

NEW DELHI, FEB.13. The stage has been set for introducing strict quality norms for soft drinks. The Central Committee on Food Standards has recommended that the water used in the production of soft drinks should meet the European Union standards, with regard to concentration of pesticide residues.

The panel, meeting here today, endorsed the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that looked into the quality standards of soft drinks and other beverages.

If the Union Health Ministry accepts the recommendation, the total pesticide content in the water used should not exceed 0.0005 mg per litre, with a proviso that the concentration of any pesticide should not exceed 0.0001 mg per litre.

According to official sources, though the panel would formally present its recommendation to the Health Ministry in a day or two. The Director-General of Health Services, S.P. Agarwal, heads the panel. The committee, which consists of experts in food standards and is mandated to provide technical advice to the Ministry, decided to endorse the JPC's recommendations.

Chaired by Mr. Agarwal, the meeting was attended, among others, by the Director-General of ICMR, N.K. Ganguly, top scientists of the CSIR's Central Food Technology Research Institute, Mysore, and senior officials of the Bureau of Indian Standards.

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