Uneatable foods still sold amid weak monitoring by regulators

Three monitoring teams of food regulators inspected superstores and a few groceries in the capital in search of 52 banned food products on Sunday only to return empty handed.
The teams reported to their higher authorities that no banned items were sold in the capital.
Reports from the outlying districts however show that many of the banned foods were being sold by the shopkeepers.
‘Every day our teams are finding some of the banned foods in the outlying districts,’ Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection deputy director Monjur Mohammad Shahriar told New Age.
On Sunday, a DNCRP team found 8,000 kg of banned ACI salt at Rajbari, he said.
The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution and Bangladesh Food Safety Authority sent three inspection teams to Rampura, Malibagh and Mirpur.
BSTI assistant director Rabbani said that he inspected the Prince Bazar, a high end superstore at Mirpur but found no banned food products there.
BSTI assistant director Montosh Kumar Das said that another team inspected groceries at Malibagh and Rampura but found no banned food products anywhere.
A BFSA team led by executive magistrate Shampa Kundu inspected the Mina Bazar at Shantinagar but found no banned products there, she told New Age.
The raids took place on directives the High Court Division issued after expressing annoyance over the food regulators failure to remove banned food products from the market.
On May 2, BSTI announced that 52 products manufactured by 47 companies were not fit for consumption.
As the food regulators showed no interest in taking action against the errand companies the High Court Division on May 12 directed the regulators to withdraw the banned products and take action against their producers.
The BFSA filed cases against the manufacturers while the BSTI suspended manufacturing licenses of 45 products and cancelled seven others.
The manufacturers are under instruction to recall mustard oil, honey, laccha semai, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, fermented milk, chanachur, biscuits, chips, flour, noodle, drinking water in jars and bottles as well as soft drink powder.
During tests, the BSTI found excessive fat or moisture in some of them, bacterial contamination in some of the products and high iron and iodine in salt.
Pran Agro Ltd, ACI Food Ltd, ACI Salt Ltd, Molla Salt Industries, City Oil Mill, Shabnam Vegetable Oil Industries Ltd, Bangladesh Edible Oil Ltd, Kashem Food Products Ltd, New Zealand Dairy Products BD Ltd, Duncan Products Ltd, Danish Food Ltd, Banalata Sweets and Bakery, Madhuban Bread and Biscuit Industries Private Ltd, Well Food and Beverage Co, Baghabari Special Ghee Co, and Madhumati Salt Industries are among the leading errand companies.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net