SAO PAULO, June 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's Agriculture

Ministry authorized a plant operated by a Coca-Cola

bottler to restart production on Friday after ordering a

stoppage earlier this week.

Production and bottling at Brazilian soft drink firm Solar's

Maracanau plant, located in the northeastern state of Ceara, was

halted out of precaution earlier this week after authorities

determined that a liquid used in cooling had come in contact

with products being manufactured.

A leak in the production line's cooling system was

corrected, the ministry said on Friday, adding an inspection

team on-site had also approved the resumption of operations.

Still, the sale of about 9 million liters of drinks,

which could have been compromised, remains on hold until results

from a federal laboratory test come in, the ministry said.

But preliminary results from Solar did not signal any

contamination, according to the ministry.

In a joint statement, Solar and Coca-Cola said that at

no moment was the safety of products affected.