Click to play videoNew Delhi: PepsiCo has been pushing the line that it is Pepsi that perks up TV, a message clearly aimed at the young, a message that has got the Health Ministry's goat.
The Health Ministry is said to be contemplating a ban on colas in schools, where obesity among students is assuming worrying proportions.
But President and CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi says the company is willing to work with governments to wean students away from high-calorie drinks. She says that counselling and exercise are better alternatives and the company is willing to replace high calorie fizzy drinks with healthy ones in its portfolio.
"We are almost indifferent as to what product goes into the schools as long as it is the right product. We are looking for constructive engagement with the Government," she says.
Earlier this month, New York became the first city to ban artery-clogging transfats in restaurants.
Denmark has a law since 2003 that does not allow more than 2 per cent transfat in foods.
All this should effectively put potato wafers and namkeens (fatty snacks) in the line of fire, though Nooyi claims that PepsiCo has anticipated the growing outcry against transfats and taken pre-emptive action.
"Pepsi is the first company to be transfat free and we use 25 per cent less oil in our chips and namkeens," she says.
Pepsi says it is selling fewer calories now than before, as it tries to strike a balance between sin, fun and pure wellness.
On the pesticide controversy, Nooyi says Pepsi is working on a standard for India for finished beverages, a first in the world, but would not like only soft drinks to be singled out for application.
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