Laravel variable not recognised in section script

My page.blade.php has several sections and I am using laravel variable $companies which works fine in the content section but not in the js scripts section. What is wrong?

@extends ('layout.master')

@section ('styles')
   ...
@endsection

@section ('content')
@foreach ($companies as $company)
  using {{ $company->company }} works fine here
@endforeach

@section ('scripts')
<script>
  ...
@foreach ($companies as $company) returns error "Undefined variable: companies (View: /Users/paul/WebSites/FairTrade/resources/views/page.blade.php)"
  using {{ $company->company }} 
@endforeach
  ...
</script>

Thank you for helping...