The environmental study has triggered angry protests around India with the Indian parliament banning the soft drinks at its canteen and the government ordering its own probe to determine whether to take action.

Pepsi's Indian subsidiary and bottler Pearl Drinks appealed Friday to the Delhi High Court urging a block on the publication of the "dubious" report, the findings of which were released at an August 5 press conference.

In its plea, Pepsi said the research methods used by the environmental watchdog, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), were "suspect" and urged the court to direct the government not to base policy on it, the Press Trust of India reported.

The CSE report says 12 soft drinks marketed in India by Coke and Pepsi contain a "deadly cocktail of pesticide residues," including lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos.

The study said repeated exposure to these pesticides could cause severe harm, ranging from cancer, liver and kidney damage, to birth defects.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi vehemently denied the allegations and took out advertisements over the weekend in the Indian press to try to allay customers' fears amid reports of a drop in sales.

CSE director Sunita Narain said in an interview published Sunday that the aim of her group's study was not to take on the cola giants but to focus "attention on the laxity of regulations" governing food safety in India.

"We know that pesticides are extremely toxic," Narain told the Hindustan Times newspaper.

"Before release, they (pesticides) are tested only on rats. If there is some adverse effect on humans, they are later recalled.

"This pesticide called chlorpyrifos that's made by Dow Chemicals, a study found it to be toxic for babies and mothers-to-be. So they are stopping its use in the US. But Dow is exporting it to India and it's becoming big here," Narain said.

She called on India to build the capacity to analyse pesticides and to institute laws making companies responsible for their products.

TERRA.WIRE