KOLKATA: The West Bengal Government will decide on the future of aerated drinks such as Coke and Pepsi after it receives a report from a laboratory.

Samples are being collected from across the State by the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Health Department and are being sent to the National Test House for testing, Food Minister Naren Dey said on Tuesday.

The collection of samples, which began on August 4, will continue for another for another two days, he said.

The Kolkata civic health authorities have asked educational institutions, hospitals and public canteens to discourage the consumption of all aerated drinks until the testing is completed.

Awareness programme

he civic body will also be launching a public awareness programme against the consumption of soft drinks. "We do not have the authority to ban colas in the city but have decided to discourage consumption, considering reports of its harmful effects," Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said here on Tuesday. "We have decided to make an appeal to the various institutions rather than issue circulars."

The move follows reports of the presence of pesticide residue in soft drinks.

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