Lead, heavy metals found in soft drinks : Government

NEW DELHI: Lead and heavy metals such as cadmium and chromium have been found in samples of soft drink brands Sprite, Mountain Dew, 7UP, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, a government official said on Tuesday. The samples were submitted to the Kolkata National Test House for testing - said Minister of State for Health Faggan Singh Kulaste while answering a question on whether a government commissioned study by the Drug Technical Advisory had found toxins in Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's brands. He was speaking in the Rajya Sabha.

The study was conducted by the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata. The samples were found to have lead, cadmium and chromium because of leaching of toxins from bottles in which they were packaged, Kulaste said.

Officials at Coca-Cola and PepsiCo could not be reached for comment.

Last month, both multinational firms had said their soft drinks are safe, reacting to the Government body report that their PET bottles have toxins. The government study had revealed that PET bottles of soft drinks from Coca-Cola and PepsiCo contain five different types of toxins – and that the tests were conducted by All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIH&PH) under Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) directed by the Health Ministry. The report had showed increased amount of leaching with rise in room temperature.