Disclosure of Beverage Chemical and Bacterial Testing Information

 WHEREAS:

 --Coca-Cola and its shareholders have suffered millions of dollars in lost sales, and damage to our corporation's reputation as a result of questions about the safety of its beverage products, especially bottled water;

--In March 2004, just five weeks after the launch of Dasani bottled water in Great Britain, Coke had to recall 500,000 bottles of Dasani found to contain illegal levels of potentially carcinogenic bromate, which entered the water during the bottling process;

--In August 2006, seven states in India announced bans on the sale of Coke products after the Centre for Science and the Environment reported widespread pesticide contamination in Coke's products that exceeded allowable limits;

--Coke's public relations blitz to fight the charges -- placing newspaper ads, flying in scientists from other continents, sending lobbyists to visit Indian officials -- cost shareholders an undisclosed amount of money;

--In August 2003 Coca-Cola products in India had also been found to contain dangerous levels of pesticides;

--Coke defends itself by claiming uniform product quality standards around the world, yet refuses to release the data that would allow skeptical consumers to verify this claim;

--Coca-Cola's bottled water in the United States is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which requires that bacteria be tested for weekly, other prohibited compounds quarterly or annually, but does not require that the results of the testing be publicly disclosed;

--The FDA reviews the tests periodically, but lacks the authority to order a recall even when it is aware that test results exceed legal limits;

--Americans' preferred beverage -- tap water -- is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which requires large water systems to test for bacteria at least 100 times a month;

--The EPA requires public water system operators to publish and distribute annual reports listing the cumulative range of all of the tests conducted during the year and explanations of any tests that exceeded allowable limits and any corrective action taken;

--A 2003 Gallup poll sponsored by the EPA found that 94% of Americans agreed that receiving information on possible contaminants in their tap water was important. Shareholders request that the Board adopt a policy of annually publishing a report on chemical and biological testing data for Coca-Cola's beverage products. The report shall contain the following information:

BE IT RESOLVED: 

The report shall be prepared at reasonable expense and may omit proprietary information or disclosures prohibited by national law. The company shall make consumers aware of the availability of these reports and how to access this information.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT 

We believe that disclosure of this information will help restore public confidence in Coca-Cola's products and protect our company's reputation.