PepsiCo Inc, the world's second-biggest soft-drink maker, will follow standards India plans to set, norms that may end the recurring debate over pesticide residues in its beverages and those of bigger rival Coca-Cola Co.
"We will abide by and fully comply with whatever standards the government sets," Indra Nooyi, the India-born chief executive officer of Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo, said in a speech at a seminar in New Delhi yesterday. "We and the Coca-Cola Co are working on a breakthrough technology that will detect very low levels of pesticide residues in soft drinks."
The controversy resurfaced this summer after an Indian pressure group said its tests showed 57 samples of 11 brands of sodas made by the two companies had pesticides residues. The government maintained the findings didn't conclusively prove drinks made by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo contain pollutants.
The companies also succeeded in overturning a sales ban on their sodas in the southern state of Kerala, a Communist-ruled province that was among the local administrations imposing varying curbs after the pressure group made public its findings.
While the authorities in other states imposed partial bans, the administration of Kerala, a tropical vacation destination along the Arabian Sea, was the only government to fully ban brands from both companies.
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola and PepsiCo disputed the testing methods and results, and said their drinks meet the EU standard of less than 1 part per billion for any individual pesticide. Coca-Cola depends on India for about 1.3 percent of its volume.
"I personally stand by each and every product we sell," Nooyi said yesterday. "Recently, three highly reputed laboratories declared our products are safe. Residues are not detectable."
PepsiCo has reduced water use in India by 50 percent and is focusing on low-fat products aimed at curbing obesity trends, Nooyi said.
The political debate surrounding the sporadic bans stoked concerns Indian laws may fail to protect overseas businesses, consequently hurting investment flows.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
RSS