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NEW DELHI - A southern Indian state on Wednesday banned the sale and production of Coke, Pepsi, Sprite and other soft drinks made by the Indian subsidiaries of Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., an official said.
Four Indian states have already banned the sale of Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks at schools, colleges and government offices after a research group in New Delhi last week claimed they contained high levels of pesticide residue. But the state of Kerala was the first to impose a total ban on production and sales.
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The moves will likely hurt local sales of Coca Cola and PepsiCo, which account for nearly 80 percent of India's US$2 billion-plus soft drinks market.
Kerala's health secretary, Viswas Mehta, told The Associated Press the state banned the drinks because of concerns over pesticide contamination and said his department began collecting its own samples of Coke and Pepsi for independent testing.
The offices of Coca-Cola India and PepsiCo India were shut because of a national holiday and company officials could not be reached immediately for comment.
But the companies said last week in a joint statement that both "comply with stringent international norms and all applicable national regulations."
The Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi said it found pesticide residues in samples of Coke and Pepsi that were 24 times above the limits set by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
The center said it carried out tests on 57 samples taken from 11 soft drink brands made by Coca-Cola India and PepsiCo India and found a "cocktail of three to five different pesticides," all apparently present in water used to make the drinks.
The toxins could, if consumed over a long period, cause cancer, damage to the nervous system, birth defects and disruption of the immune system, the center said.