Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has slammed a ban on 17 products of various brands in the market. The institution procured various products from the open market and tested these in their laboratory. After that, a number of the products were prohibited as these did not meet the Bangladesh Standards (BDS).
Show-cause notices have been served on the companies manufacturing these products. BSTI said that directives have been issued so that the manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers and retailers are banned from selling and distributing these products. Commercial advertising of the products must also be halted. The manufacturers must also withdraw the products from the market.
Over the past two months BSTI has been collecting products from the market, related to iftar and sehri. A total of 521 items were collected and so far 253 were tested. Of these, 17 were found to be below standard.
The prohibited products include AP-1 brand ghee of Chattogram’s Kalpana Commodities Ltd, Anchor brand suji (semolina) of Chittagong Flower Mills, Al Amin lozenges of Al Amin Bakery in Jashore, Mr Baker brand biscuits of Dhaka’s Mr Baker and Poultry Shop, Saba potato chips of Faridpur’s Safe Food Industries, Banga brand iodised salt of Riyad Salt Industries Industries Ltd in Cox’s Bazar, RM brand ghee of Rajshahi Mistanno Bhandar, Genius special brand ghee, soybean oil and turmeric powder of Bogura’s Genius Safe Food and Consumers, Seema brand suji of Bogura Seema Flour Mills Ltd in Bogura, AB-1 brand butter oil and Raja brand ghee of Gazipur’s GM Foods, Nurjehan butter of Shah International Food in Gazipur, Best-1 ghee of Shariatpur’s Mother Dairy and Food Products, Shamsher Nagar Shahi brand ghee of Maulvibazar Shahi Food Products, and some unbranded soyabean oil with no labels.
BSTI carries out regular inspection throughout the year to check whether the products given the BSTI seal of approval actually maintain the standard.
Over the past two months BSTI has been collecting products from the market, related to iftar and sehri. A total of 521 items were collected and so far 253 were tested. Of these, 17 were found to be below standard.
There are presently 181 various products in the country that require BSTI approval. That means that means these products cannot be released in the market without the BSTI seal.