Now Playing...The States vs. The Colas

This is a theater of the absurd. First, some NGO finds that Pepsi and Coke have chemicals in excess of the minimum residue levels (MRL) established by the government. According to India Today India is one of the few countries that have MRL on such products. So far, so good.

soon, some state governments in India jump on this and promptly ban colas. And, US is upset with the situation that it "warns" India. I am sure that will be enough for some of these politicians in India to wag their fingers back and call it nationalism. But, tell me how many people in India drink these colas. And, how many people depend on water. Why don't we talk of MRLs in the drinking water supply, vegetables and food grains. Why can't these states that were quick to ban the colas do something about the problems with chemicals, pesticides in other food items that are more commonly consumed?

US would do better if it would stop issuing such stupid statements that hurt the fragile egos of the Indians. India has a slow but reasonably good legal system that can provide recourse. Interestingly, the US reaction came even before any strong reaction from the cola firms.

Maybe, we should consider a statuatory warning on the cola bottles like the ones on cigarette packages and focus on the real issues.

Finally, I am TTB (thrilled to bits) to see fellow Chennai-ite Indira Nooyi as the CEO of Pepsi. Lets all drink to that.