(Image source from: Coca Cola)

Tough times ahead for India's soft drink majors as India's apex court has decided to tighten its noose over quality issues.

Soft drink makers are under fire for manufacturing unhealthy drinks that aren't just adding to the obesity and diabetes epidemic, but also causing irreparable damage to the overall environment.

Conveying grave concerns over the baleful effects of such fizzy drinks on health, the Supreme Court of India has commanded periodic checks of the facilities manufacturing soft drinks in the country.

"The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is to monitor and conduct periodic checks of all carbonated soft drinks as the issue relates to citizens' fundamental right to life guaranteed under the Constitution," said a bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and A.K. Sikri.

The FSSAI has been ordered to assess the deleterious effects of soft drinks on human health and make sure that all beverages details their ingredients, including levels of added chemicals are accurately mentioned in the label.

The bench released the order based on the petition filed by Prashant Bhushan who argued the case for NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation that carbonated drinks contain ingredients that pose as a serious risk to human health “and no action is being taken to test and assess the risk posed by such beverages.”

AW: Suchorita Dutta Choudhury