The Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore and Central Food Laboratory, Kolkata, were on Monday asked by the JPC to explain why their sample test results on pesticide residues in soft drinks were at variance with the ones conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment.

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The officials of the two institutes told the joint parliamentary committee probing the cola row that they were not the same samples that were tested by the CSE, sources said.

Following the observation by the CSE that pesticide level in water in soft drinks in India were high, two sets of samples were sent to CFTRI and CFL for analysis.

Both the laboratories observed that malathion, which was alleged to be 87 times the EU limit as per the CSE report, was found to be totally absent in all the samples.

Health Minister Sushma Swaraj had told Parliament that following the CSE report, the government had collected samples of 12 brands of soft drinks belonging to the same bottling units from which CSE samples came.