Petition filed to remove 52 substandard products from market

A writ petition was filed with the High Court on Thursday seeking removal of 52 products that failed quality tests of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI).

The petition also seeks an embargo on the production of the products until their qualities improve, reports UNB.

Palash Mahmud, executive director of Conscious Consumer Society (CCS), filed the petition which is likely to come up for hearing at the bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil later in the day.

Barrister Shihab Uddin Khan, the plaintiff's lawyer, said that according to media reports on May 3-4, BSTI recently tested 406 food samples of 27 types.
 

"They've published results of 313 products and among them, samples from 52 manufacturers were found to be substandard and adulterated," he said.

Shihab said that since no step to seize and remove these products from the market was taken, the CCS sent legal notice to two secretaries of different ministries and owners of two companies on May 6.

"As they took no steps even after receiving the legal notice, we filed the writ petition," the lawyer said.

The 52 substandard products include mustard oil of City Oil, Green Bleaching, Shobnom, Edible Oil; chips of Kashem Food; drinking water of Ara Food, Duncan, Deeghi; vermicelli of Pran, Well Food, Mishtimela, Modhubon, Mithai. Amrita, Jedda, Kiron; turmeric powder of Danish, Pran, Fresh, Dolphin, Manjil; iodized salt of ACI, Molla Salt, Dada Super, Madhumati, Medina, Noor; soft drink powder of Shanto Food, Jahangir; curry powder of Danish, Pran; chili powder of Dolphin, Hathazari; ghee of Baghbari Special, Banalata, Shurjo.