Coca Cola India on Monday got a clean chit from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) after no pesticides were found in the water used for making the beverage.

TERI said Coke’s plants were in compliance with Indian environmental regulatory norms.

“The TERI report confirms that we meet Indian regulations and on an overall basis, the Coca Cola Company’s standards are often more stringent. It also identified areas where we can do better,” a Coca Cola official said.
Meridian Institute, a US-based NGO, had recommended Coke to allow TERI to conduct an independent audit.

“No pesticides were found in any of the intake water and treated water used to make beverages,” stated the report prepared after checking six plants for 16 months.

But the report did not examine whether Coke’s beverages contained pesticide residues.

The Centre for Science and Environment in 2003 and again in 2006 had alleged that Coke’s products were unsafe because they had pesticide residues, a charge that Coke had denied.

The study was done after student groups of the University of Michigan raised doubts about reports of pesticide residues in products. They also raised serious protests against contamination of water in corporate products, which was taken note by experts.

The audit also recommended Coke to strengthen standards in areas like water resource management.
TERI is headed by UN’s climate scientist RK Pachauri.