Standard spiel
| Company-government reasons | Why they don't make sense |
| Sugar standard has not been set so pesticide residue of final product cannot be set | Tests done by labs, including company-sponsored analysis, show that refined and processed sugar, used in the product, do not contribute significantly to the residues |
| Product is complex and cannot be tested for pesticides at sub-ppb level | Testing is routinely done across the world for pesticide residues in soft drinks. Companies also tested products in laboratories to claim they are safe |
| Final product standard cannot be set for pesticide residues. It is not done anywhere in the world | It is true that western governments have not set standards for pesticide residues in soft drinks. But they have set standards for pesticide residues in other, more complex multi-ingredient processed foods |
| Standard should not be set until the ministry of health committee and its sub-committees finalise their reports. The health ministry was not consulted | It has been over two years since the committees of the health ministry were set up, with no outcome and no final date. The committee is examining the issue of pesticide residues in raw sugar, when there is data available for over 150 samples, showing that sugar does not contribute to the pesticides in the final product. The committee is also looking at raw sugar, while companies use refined sugar, which undergoes further treatment and so purification. It is also not correct to say that the health ministry was not consulted. The BIS committee included its officials. At all times letters were written asking for advice and information, but no response was received |
| The government cannot set the standard because the Supreme Court is listening to a case on health issues of soft drinks. The matter is sub-judice | In this same case, the government has informed the Supreme Court that it should not concern itself with the matter, as BIS is in the process of finalising standards for final quality, which will take into account health imperatives |
| The BIS standard will be in conflict with the mandatory standard, set under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act | The act does not have final product standards for pesticide residues in soft drinks. It only includes standards for water used in manufacture of the product. There is no conflict |
| Standard cannot be set because companies do not agree Why they don’t make sense | If this contention is accepted as the basis for regulation, then standards for public health can never be set |