BSTI cancels licences of two, suspends 25 others

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution on Thursday cancelled licences of two of the 52 products that were found substandard in a recent test run at the laboratory of the national standardisation authority.
Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, BSTI in short, also suspended licences of 25 other products that failed to meet the standard.
The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, or DNCRP, on Thursday ordered that all the products be recalled in two days.
The actions came amid repeated interventions of the High Court over food safety since the results of the BSTI tests were made public. 
‘The action is taken as part of our routine work,’ said BSTI certification marks wing director SM Ishaque Ali.
He said that the BSTI had earlier asked companies responsible for the products to explain why they failed to maintain their standards.
Licenses of the companies who did not respond to our ‘show cause’ notices were revoked, he said.
The licences of companies that explained their situation requesting another review of the substandard products were suspended until the quality their products was proved in further tests, said Ishaque.
Similarly, on Wednesday, the BSTI cancelled licenses of seven other companies and suspended 18 others for selling substandard products.
The cancelled products are chilli powder and lachchha semai produced by Chittagong based SS Consumer Products and Naogaon based Kiron Traders.
The BSTI in its tests found moisture and fat content higher than recommended in the lachchha semai sample collected from the market while the chilli powder was not fine enough and left higher amount of ash than permitted when burned.
The products suspended on Thursday included lachchha semai produced by Well Food and Beverage Company, ghee produced by Baghabari Special Ghee, iodised salt produced by Madhumati, and turmeric powder produced by Sun Food.
Other suspended products included honey, fermented milk, chanachur, biscuit and flour.
On Wednesday, the list of companies whose licenses for producing particular products were suspended included prominent brands like City Oil Mill, Bangladesh Edible Oil Ltd, Kashem Food Products, Duncan Products, Pran Agro Ltd, New Zealand dairy products BD ltd, Danish Food Limited, ACI Food Limited, Shabnam Vegetable Oil, and Banalata Sweets and Bakery.
Problems found in the products include low iron in mustard and vegetable oils, high fat, moisture, lead contents in spices and chips, high bacteria in drinking water, and less iodine in salt. 
Ishaque said that those whose licenses were cancelled would have to apply for new licenses before going into production again.
If products of suspended companies were found substandard in the second phase of test their licenses would be cancelled, he said.
On May 2, the BSTI revealed at a press conference that its tests found 52 products by 46 companies substandard.
In the tests three products by Pran Agro and two each by ACI, Danish and Dolphin were found substandard.
On May 12, the High Court intervened and called for BSTI test results before directing authorities to stop sale of the products immediately and hold the companies accountable.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net