Report India Toxins found in Pet Bottles of five soft drinks

Report India Toxins found in Pet Bottles of five soft drinks

Under the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), instructions, the study was conducted by the Kolkata-based All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIH&PH), which comes under the Health Ministry.

A government study has found five different toxins — heavy metals antimony, lead, chromium and cadmium and the compound DEHP or Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate — in cold drinks produced by two major multinational companies, PepsiCo and Coca Cola.

The study, commissioned by Health Ministry body, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), found that these toxins leached into five cold drink samples picked up for the study — Pepsi, Coca Cola, Mountain Dew, Sprite and 7Up — from the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles they were in. Mountain Dew and 7Up are owned by Pepsico, while Sprite is owned by Coca Cola.

The results of the test, conducted in February-March, revealed traces of heavy metals like antimony, lead, chromium and cadmium as well as the compound DEHP, or Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, in four bottles of each of the brands picked up through "stratified random sampling method".

The results were submitted by the AIIH&PH to Jagdish Prasad, Director General of Health Services and chairman of DTAB recently.

The AIIH&PH had picked up four bottles (600 ml size) each of the cold drink brands as samples through the “stratified random sampling method”. The institute then handed over the samples to the Kolkata-based National Test House (NTH), which falls under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, to perform the tests.


There are no permissible limits for heavy metals in cold drinks
the tests found 0.029 milligrams per litre (mg/L), 0.011 mg/L, 0.002 mg/L, 0.017 mg/L and 0.028 mg/L of antimony, lead, cadmium, chromium and DEHP, respectively, in Pepsi. In Coca Cola, 0.006 mg/L, 0.009 mg/L, 0.011 mg/L, 0.026 mg/L and 0.026 mg/L of the aforesaid heavy metals, respectively, were found

The leaching of these heavy metals — from the PET bottles in which the drinks were packaged — increased with the rise in room temperature. For example, at normal room temperature, the tests found 0.004 mg/L and 0.007 mg/L of lead in 7Up and Sprite, respectively. However, when it was kept at 40 degrees Celsius for 10 days, the lead increased to 0.006 mg/L and 0.009 mg/L, respectively.

1
Brand Name – Coca Cola
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] antimony – 0.006
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Lead – 0.009
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Cadmium – 0.011
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Chromium – 0.026

2-
Brand Name – Sprite
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] antimony – 0.015
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Lead – 0.007
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Cadmium – 0.003
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Chromium – 0.015


3-
Brand Name – Mountain Dew
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] antimony – 0.012
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Lead – 0.006
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Cadmium – 0.016
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Chromium – 0.017

4-
Brand Name – Pepsi
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] antimony – 0.029
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Lead – 0.011
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Cadmium – 0.002
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Chromium – 0.017

5-
Brand Name – 7up
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] antimony – 0.011
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Lead – 0.004
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Cadmium – 0.012
Toxic Substance [ mg/l] Chromium – 0.017

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers lead and cadmium two of the top ten chemicals of “major public health concern”.
According to the WHO, children are particularly vulnerable to harmful effects of lead.
At high levels of exposure, Lead attacks the brain and central nervous system to cause coma, convulsions and even death. Children who survive severe lead poisoning may be left with mental retardation and behavioral disorders,

For cadmium, the WHO said, “Cadmium exerts toxic effects on the kidney, the skeletal system and the respiratory system and is classified as a human carcinogen.” Chromium, antimony and DEHP are also known to cause serious side effects on the body.


In India there are no standards for safe plastic packaging like USA
Government of India needs to fix the rules, permissible limits of toxins in soft drinks.
Government of India needs to fix the standards for safe plastic packaging.

Suggested Reading –

Government study finds toxins in PET bottles of 5 soft drink brands


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Friday, October 7, 2016

Tags -  Health Drinks Toxins India