 February 5, 2004 JPC report sets a "reform agenda" for environmental and public health action in India, says CSE
New Delhi, February 5, 2004: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the New Delhi-based NGO whose August 2003 study exposed the presence of deadly pesticide residues in popular soft drink brands, has welcomed the report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) released yesterday. In a press briefing held today, Sunita Narain, director, CSE, said: "The report provides a reform agenda on food safety and water security in India." The JPC had been set up following the CSE study to examine the issue of pesticide residues in, and safety standards for, soft drinks, fruit juices and other beverages. It was the first-ever JPC to have been convened on public health in post-Independence India. CSE has always maintained that the issue of pesticides in soft drinks -- or bottled water, for that matter -- is about public health: about food safety and water security and the necessity of overhauling the nation’s outdated regulatory framework in both these areas. In its depositions to the JPC, CSE has repeatedly argued for the implementation of stringent regulations and norms on this sector in the larger interest of public health. It had also expressed to the Committee the urgent need for setting legally enforceable drinking water standards in India, and for bringing about fundamental reforms in pesticide regulations in the country. Indeed, the Committee has, through its report, transformed the mere question of pesticide residues into a matter of effective governance. Besides welcoming the Committee’s vindication of its study on the presence of pesticide residues in soft drinks, CSE praises the Committee’s recommendations in other areas. The Committee has suggested that the water used in manufacturing soft drinks should be in conformity with the recently notified new packaged drinking water norms. CSE also welcomes the Committee’s recommendation on food standards, which says that India should formulate its own food standards which are based on scientific criteria, protect the interest and health of its people, and are in tandem with the global best. Further, the JPC has said that stringent final product standards for carbonated beverages, which are best suited to Indian conditions, need to be fixed within the overall perspective of public health. The Committee has opined that it is "prudent to seek complete freedom from pesticide residues in sweetened aerated water". It also says that standards notified under the draft notification for pesticide residues should not be made applicable to fruit juices and other beverages. The issue of caffeine content in soft drinks has also been highlighted. The JPC suggests that soft drink companies should introduce non-caffeinated versions of their products in the Indian market. In line with global best practices on caffeine regulations, labelling of caffeinated beverages sold in India should be undertaken, opines the report. The JPC has looked at length at another key issue: water. It has recommended pricing and regulation of groundwater, particularly when it is used for commercial purposes, be given serious attention by the ministry of water resources. Water, according to the JPC, should be included in the definition of ‘Food’ in the PFA and "legally enforceable" standards should be formulated for drinking water to ensure that the general public gets clean and safe drinking water from taps. In addition, the JPC has clearly taken umbrage at the state of pesticide regulation in the country. It desires proper and complete enforcement of standards, and has recommended fundamental changes in the way pesticides are registered for use in the country. In effect, the report has demanded that pesticide policy in India be thoroughly revamped. The JPC report has adopted a tough line with regard to the promotional blitzkrieg adopted by the Cola giants. It says that claims made by the Cola companies in their recent advertisements are tantamount to "misleading the public", and that such "misinformation" should not be allowed in future. The report provides the roadmap for regulatory reform in the country. Most of all, it endorses that commitment to public health be central to public policy in future. CSE believes that this report will provide the necessary impetus for civil society to demand change and insist on the implementation of the recommendations.
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