The Mysuru-based CFTRI and Kolkata-based Central Food Laboratory (CFL) had been identified to conduct tests on soft drink samples a few years ago, when there were reports of the alleged presence of pesticides in them.
The Union Health Ministry had identified these labs for conducting the tests.
“The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), which was constituted to look into the issue over the alleged presence of pesticides in soft drinks, had sent the samples to our lab here. We had to accept the samples since the direction came from Parliamentary body and the question of jurisdiction does not arise,” sources in the CFTRI told The Hindu .
“The number of days essential to complete the tests depend on the type of food samples. Some tests need two or three days, while some may require a week or so to arrive at conclusive results,” they said.
