The state's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had been conducting tests on samples of Pepsi and Coca Cola after charges earlier this month that carbonated beverages made locally were laced with lethal doses of pesticide, commissioner Uttam Khobargade said.

"We conducted tests on samples from various plants of these two companies located in Maharashtra and found presence of pesticides in one sample of Pepsi," he told AFP.

"Following this positive testing I have issued show-cause notices to Pepsi demanding an explanation for the presence of the pesticides in its sample."

He said the FDA would conduct detailed investigations to find the source of the pesticides in the fizzy drinks.

"We have to find whether it came from contaminated water used by the company or from the sugar used by it while preparing the concentrate. This is our next step of investigation," Khobargade said.

The Indian government on Thursday said cola beverages sold by Coca Cola and Pepsi met local standards, disputing an imflammatory report by a national environmental group that the drinks contained high levels of pesticides.

The government said tests of the 12 soft drinks named in the study by the Centre for Science and Environment showed all were "well within the safety limits" of India. But it conceded that the beverages were not up to higher standards imposed in the European Union.

The Indian not-for-profit group stunned the 500 million dollar-a-year cola industry with an August 5 report that 12 Coke and Pepsi brands sold in the country contained a "deadly cocktail of pesticide residues."

It said the same soft drinks sold in the United States contained no pesticides and accused the two companies of not purifying their source water in India.

Indian cola sales sank immediately after the report. Activists from leftists to rightwing Hindus staged protests across the country, smashing bottles of Coke and Pepsi and burning pictures of the Indian film stars who advertise for the products.

TERRA.WIRE