Pepsi fined after customer in India finds condom in bottle
at new New Delhi -- A consumer court Wednesday ordered soft drink maker PepsiCo to pay financial damages after a customer found a condom inside a bottle, a news report said.
Calling the case "rare" and one that had a serious bearing on public health, the court ordered the company to pay 100,000 rupees (2,200 dollars) to a legal aid fund for consumers, and 20,000 rupees (450 dollars) to the complainant, Press Trust of India reported.
"This case is an eye-opener for others who are engaged in manufacturing soft drinks and are required to maintain the prescribed standards of purity in (the) public interest," the news agency quoted the three-judge panel as saying.
Calls to PepsiCo spokesman Annie Kishen's phone went unanswered Wednesday.
Complainant Sudesh Sharma, a resident of Ujhani village near New Delhi, said he fell sick after consuming one of the two Pepsi bottles he bought in 2003.
Sharma said he found dirt and contaminants in the bottle, and suffered from insomnia, severe headache and stomach pain. He found the condom in the other unopened bottle, PTI reported.
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