Govt moves to apply European Union norms for soft drinks

Govt will release a draft notification soon for EU norms for pesticide limits in water used in colas.

The Government will come out with a draft notification in a day or two to apply European Union (EU) norms for pesticide limits on water used in drinks from next January.

The move comes in the wake of accusations of high pesticide levels in top soft drink brands, including Coca Cola and Pepsi.

"The standard for bottled water should also be applicable to soft drinks. A draft notification is being issued in a day or two before issuing the executive notification," Health and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters on Friday.

"Government has already notified the prescribed limits for pesticides in packaged drinking water which would be applicable from next January," she said.

Swaraj said the Government would also take steps for setting standards for ground water to ensure high quality drinking water through civic bodies. She, however, made it clear that these standards would not be as high as that of the bottled water. "If we keep the EU standards for ground water high, people will die of thirst."

The Minister said there was lack of such standards in the country as "water" was not included in the definition of "food".