The Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI) has withdrawn suspension of 26 companies, clearing them to sell their products, barely a month after it found the same products substandard.
In a circular issued on Tuesday, BSTI said these companies were again permitted to sell their products after they had managed to ensure the required standards.
It also said the decision to revoke the licences of 25 companies and suspend the licence of one was upheld.
Licences of all these companies were either revoked or suspended when BSTI in the first phase of tests found 52 out of 406 food items to be substandard.
BSTI on Tuesday also said that 22 of the 93 other food items, currently being sold in the market, were found substandard in the second phase of testing.
Based on this result, it said, the licences of two companies were cancelled and 11 companies were suspended, while cases were filed against eight. The licence of one other company was previously cancelled.
BSTI ordered removal of these 22 products from market shelves within 72 hours of the circular’s publication. It also banned the production, supply, sale and advertisement of these products.
Lawyer for the standards regulator, Barrister Sarker MR Hassan, told Dhaka Tribune that their latest report on the second phase of testing and the updated list of companies with revoked or suspended licences would be submitted to the High Court next Sunday.
SOME OF THE 22 NEW SUBSTANDARD PRODUCTS
Powdered spice:
Radhuni coriander and cumin (Square Food and Beverage)
Three Star turmeric (Three Star Flower Mill)
Dairy:
Pran Premium Ghee (Pran Foods)
A-7 Ghee (Jamuna Chemical Works)
Green Mountain Butter Oil (Queen Cow Food Products)
Khusbu Ghee (Agro Organic Products Ltd)
Vermicelli:
Kulson (Hashem Foods)
Madina (JK Food Product)
Salt:
Muskan (SA Salt)
Confidence (Confidence Salt Ltd)
Camel (Bismillah Salt)
Nazrul (Janata Salt Mills)
