Even as the Kerala government asked the Coca-Cola factory in the state's Palakkad district to stop supplying the sludge it produces as fertiliser to local farmers, the soft drinks major came out with its own laboratory findings saying that the sludge is "harmless."

The Coke factory situated at Plachimada village in Kerala has been under fire after the BBC and the Kerala Pollution Control Board certified that the sludge it produces and freely supplies to the farmers contain dangerous levels of toxic chemicals such as carcinogen cadmium and lead.

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But the Coca-Cola firm on Thursday released the results of a detailed study. The study, which was conducted by the Hyderabad-based Vimta Labs, said that the samples from the Palakkad plant have tested "well below the permissible limits." Vimta is recognised by the National Accreditation Board for Calibration and Testing Laboratories.

According to the report, cadmium tested '4' and lead '35', both of which are "below the permissible limits". The report, however, gave no further explanations. The BBC study jointly conducted in collaboration with Greenpeace had said that the sludge contained the following contents at unacceptable levels:

• Lead: 1100 mg/kg,
• Cadmium: 100 mg/kg
• Chromium: 190 mg/kg
• Phosphorous: 1580 mg/kg
• Zinc: 680 mg/kg, and
• Aluminium: 4000 mg/kg

The Kerala Pollution Control Board, which also conducted tests on the sludge, said on Wednesday that the fertiliser samples contained 201.8 mg of cadmium per kg of dry weight, against the tolerable limit of 50 mg. But the presence of lead at 319.0 mg per kg was, however, lower than the tolerable limit of 500 mg per kg.

While the statistics released by the BBC-Greenpeace, KPCB and the Coca-Cola company are entirely different and confusing, the state government on Thursday said that it will take a decision on the renewal of Coke licence after studying all the tests results.

"We are analysing the tests on the sludge by various organisations including the BBC. Currently the government is looking into the KPCB study and its recommendations before taking any action against the Coke plant," Kerala's health minister P Sankaran told rediff.com.

He said more expert investigation is required to look into the process of soft drinks manufacture and water purification.

The Coke findings carried along with an advertisement in Kerala newspapers said, "Some elements of the press have indulged in a misinformation campaign about our plant at Palakkad."

It said the Coke company's commitment to the customers and the society is established by its track record. "We never have, nor will ever do such a thing to the society and individuals," it added.