Montreal authorities say they will soon have results from laboratory tests on a bar of swastika-engraved soap alleged to be made from human remains.

Montreal police recently seized the soap from a curiosity shop on St-Laurent Boulevard after a CBC News report that sparked outrage in the city's Jewish community.

Police say the store owner is co-operating and no charges have been laid.

The owner of the store, who is Jewish, said he bought the soap from an ex-soldier and it dated from the Second World War. The soap was on sale for $300.

There have been stories the Nazis made soap from the remains of Holocaust victims, but historians have dismissed the idea that it was mass-produced. There is, however, some evidence that Nazis experimented in making soap from fat in certain extermination camps.

Jewish groups have said that whether the soap was made from human remains or not, the item is deeply offensive and should never have been put up for sale.

With files from The Canadian Press