Mumbai: Even as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo unleashed a communication campaign assuring consumers that pesticide levels in their aerated drinks were well within the prescribed limits, the governments of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh - all NDA - ruled states - have banned the sale of Coke and Pepsi in their educational institutions, government offices and canteens.

The ban follows a report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in New Delhi stating that pesticide presence in soft drinks were 24 times above the limits set by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

CSE, which had carried out tests on 57 samples taken from 11 soft drink brands made by Coca-Cola India and PepsiCo India, had found a "cocktail of three to five different pesticides," all apparently present in ground water used to make the drinks.

PepsiCo's media campaign said: "... new regulations for carbonated drinks notified by the health minister on July 15, 2004, are comparable to the most stringent international regulations, including the European Union. All PepsiCo products in India meet these standards. Our products comply with the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) directive on the use of water in the preparation of soft drinks."

The toxins found in the soft drinks could, if consumed over a long period, cause cancer, birth defects and damage to the nervous system, the latest study said.

Reacting to the Pepsi advertisement, the CSE said in a press release, "... they are selectively quoting from the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report to mislead us. For instance, while the advertisement says that pesticides in its Diet Pepsi are `below limit', it conveniently forgets to add that the same sample exceeds the limit for DDT, a banned pesticide, by 80 per cent. It also does not show the individual pesticide content which exceeds the prescribed limits.

"The Committee feels that claims made by the cola companies in their advertisement tantamount to misleading the public as their products do contain pesticides, which have ill effect on human health in the long run," the JPC report had concluded.

PepsiCo officials were unavailble to comment on the issue of ban on its products and the CSE's reaction to its advertisement.

Meanwhile, the Maldives Food and Drug Authority has started investigations to assess whether pesticides are present in Coke and Pepsi soft drinks imported from India.