Analysis of pesticide residues in soft drinks

In December 2005, CSE's Pollution Monitoring Lab decided to check whether the samples of soft drinks available in the market are within the limits prescribed by BIS or not. A total of 57 samples, of 11 brands of Pepsi Co and Coca Cola available in the market, were collected from 12 different states of the country. PML tested the samples using internationally recognised United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) methodology for organochlorine pesticide and organophosphorus pesticide. Extraction and analysis was done as per the given methodology, using Gas Chromatograph with Electron Capture Detector using a capillary column for analysing organochlorine pesticides and Gas Chromatograph with Nitrogen Phosphorus Detector using a capillary column for analysing organophosphorus pesticides. Final confirmation was carried out by GC-MS.