Mumbai: Maharashtra government will forward results of the laboratory tests conducted on aerated soft drinks to determine pesticide levels to Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), set up by the Centre in this regard.

"We will be forwarding the results of the laboratory tests conducted on the soft drinks to the JPC, which has been constituted in this regard," Food and Drug Administration Minister Anil Deshmukh told reporters at Mantralaya.

"We have received some results and they show variable percentage of residue of pesticides in the products. A sample of Pepsi contained Lindane, which was above the global norms," the Minister said.

Deshmukh appealed the Centre to declare standards for presence of residue of pesticides, so that the state government can then initiate proper action against those violating the norms.

"Right now, the Union government has not prescribed any norms, they must announce it at the earliest," he said. The Centre has declared .001 per cent of pesticide residue permissible in bottled drinking mineral water, he added.

The state government has decided to conduct tests on soft drinks after a Delhi-based NGO, Centre for Science and Environment following analysis of samples of 12 soft drink brands, including Pepsi and Coca Cola, revealed the pesticide residue exceeded European Union norms varying from 11-70 times.

PTI