'Fountain Pepsi to use bottled water'

Even as the controversy over alleged pesticides in soft drinks is yet to die down, PepsiCo has decided to use bottled water for its fountain Pepsi outlets across the country against filtered tap water being used at present.

The cola major also plans to, soon, launch its Aquafina brand of bottled water in 25-ml jars in the capital.

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"We have decided to use bottled water only for fountain Pepsi in India. This decision was taken last week after the pesticide controversy broke out," PepsiCo India chairman Rajeev Bakshi told PTI in New Delhi.

He said initially the company will use other bottled water brands available in large-sized packs like 25-ml jars till its own brand becomes available in the larger packs.

At present, the Fountain Pepsi outlets use Cuno filters to clean the tap water before using it in the cola served from the fountain.

However, when Coca-Cola president Sanjiv Gupta was asked whether a changeover to bottled water was being contemplated for Coke sold through dispensing outlets, he declined to comment.

Both the US majors PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have already joined hands against the alleged pesticide content in their drinks and have called for independent tests to be conducted by accredited laboratories while asserting that their products meet all norms including those set by the European Union.