Coca-Cola's Indian Soft Drinks Meet Stringent Purity Criteria by EU

14/08/06 The Coca-Cola Company today announced results of independent laboratory tests confirming that the Company's soft drinks in India meet the stringent purity criteria set by the European Union for pesticides in bottled water.

"There is no issue with the quality and purity of our products," said Rick Frazier, vice president of Technical Stewardship, The Coca-Cola Company.

Samples of Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Sprite, Fanta and Limca have been tested by the highly respected independent laboratory, Central Science Laboratories (CSL), in the United Kingdom. CSL's test results confirm that there are no safety problems with pesticide residues in the soft drinks made by The Coca-Cola Company in India. Results from 2006 tests showed less than .1 part per billion of any pesticide. Testing is ongoing with additional results expected this coming week.

"Our beverages provide not only great taste and refreshment, but absolute quality - every bottle, every can, every day, everywhere," said Frazier. "For the past two years The Coca-Cola Company has been monitoring the purity of our beverages in India using the European Union criteria. We are therefore very comfortable supporting the Indian government's intention to establish criteria for pesticide residues in soft drinks, based on scientifically validated testing methods."