New Delhi: PepsiCo India said on August 21 it was keeping all options open as far as taking any legal action against the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) was concerned.

"After the government's clean chit today, it is for the society, media and polity to decide...as far as CSE is concerned, we have decided to keep our options open on taking any legal recourse against them," PepsiCo India chief Rajeev Bakshi said.

He said one million people depend on the industry for their bread and butter. "We are a 100-year old brand. This 15-day affair is inconsequential. Truth prevails."

Asked about CSE's statement dubbing as "very unfortunate" government's decision to give a clean chit to the cola manufacturers even as it stuck to its stand on having found high level of pesticides in soft drinks, he said, "Apples cannot be compared with oranges. The standards for water cannot be compared to those for soft drinks."

CSE said it has in fact been vindicated by government's probe which too detected pesticides in seven of the 12 bottles tested.

Bakshi said with the government certifying product quality, Pepsi can export to anywhere in the world including the European Union.

PTI