A soft drinks factory that was shut down more than three weeks ago after 'foreign bodies' were found in one of its products is to reopen soon, it was revealed.

The Health Ministry has given the Refreshment Trading Company bottling plant the all clear after closing it down on January 23.

It took action after fungus was found in a bottle of Crush bought at a Muharraq coffee shop.

A ministry official said all investigations had been completed and they were satisfied production could resume.

'We have done a thorough check and even ordered a trial production to go on for the last few weeks in order to check samples,' said the official.

'The plant has been declared fit to reopen immediately.'

A company official told our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News that production would resume in a few days.

'We have put this unfortunate incident behind us and are moving on,' he said.

The official added that corrective steps had been taken and modifications carried out at the plant.

'We have carried out all ministry recommendations.'

The plant, near the British Council on Shaikh Salman Highway, is the only one in Bahrain that uses glass bottles for soft drinks.

As a precaution, authorities had earlier taken all bottles of Crush from the coffee shop where the contaminated product was sold.

They also sealed all stock bottled on the same day in the factory.

Crush is a member of the Coca-Cola soft drink family, but is bottled in Bahrain by the company.-TradeArabia News Service