Highlights of the 2006 CSE study on pesticides in colas-II:

A cocktail of 3-6 pesticides was present in all samples.
Lindane (a confirmed carcinogen) levels were over 54 times above the BIS standard; in one Coca-Cola sample from Kolkata, it was 140 times higher.
Chlorpyrifos (a known neurotoxin) levels were 47 times higher; a Coca-Cola sample from Mumbai had a 200 times higher level.
Heptachlor, banned in India, was found in 71 per cent of the samples, at levels 4 times higher than BIS standards.
Average amount of pesticide residues found in all the samples was 11.85 parts per billion (ppb) — 24 times higher than the BIS standards for total pesticides in soft drinks (0.5 ppb).
Pepsi cola contained 30 times higher residues on an average.
Coca-Cola contained 27 times higher residues on an average.

Read the Down To Earth cover story The Street Fight for an explanation of the results.