Goa has decided not to ban the sale soft drinks. At least for the moment.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the tourist state said that there would be no immediate ban on soft drinks, including those manufactured by the multinational firms Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.
However, if laboratory reports establish that soft drinks are 'dangerous' to health, the government will make an appropriate move against the soft drinks. The state government has already sent samples of soft drinks for tests.
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"I do not want to overreact," said Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, responding to the demand made by his party to ban soft drinks in Goa.
The supply of all soft drinks to Parliament has already been banned.
But the Goa chief minister made it clear that he would not hesitate to enforce an immediate ban if laboratory tests show that the soft drinks indeed are dangerous as claimed by the Centre for Science and Environment.
Parrikar said that the quality of water also differs from place to place. In Goa, one multinational uses well water and not tap water for bottling.
"In any case, no doctor encourages you to drink soft drinks," he said. "But I cannot ban it unless it is dangerous to health," he added.
Besides sending the soft drink samples for testing, Parrikar has also instructed the Foods and Drugs Administration authorities to check the process of bottling of these soft drinks in the state. "We need to check the process rather than mere samples," he said.
Meanwhile, Goa has decided to set up a full-fledged capacity building project for food safety and quality control, with the help of World Bank.
The Rs 4.5 crore (Rs 45 million) project would help in checking quality of such soft drinks, food items and liquor being manufactured in Goa, said Parrikar.
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