Govt cautions people on use of eight tainted milk brands

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The government has advised the people to refrain from using eight particular brands of powder milk, which in laboratory tests proved to have been containing the chemical melamine, reports UNB.
Tests conducted at the Dhaka University Laboratory confirmed presence of melamine in the milk brands Sweetbaby, Yasli-1, Yasli-2, New Zealand's Nido Fortified Instant, Anlin, Australia's Diploma and Red Cow, and Dano of Denmark, said an official handout.
The government advice came from an inter-agency Taskforce meeting held
Thursday at the Commerce Ministry with Additional Secretary Golam
Mostakim in the chair.
All concerned have been asked to inform the Taskforce convener about the unregistered companies, which are marketing such powder milk, for taking immediate legal action.
According to bdnews24.com, a senior BSTI official said the tests in a DU laboratory have found contaminant melamine in milk powder of the eight overseas brands being sold in Bangladesh.
The laboratory of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and the private laboratory Plasma Plus also tested samples of all the eight brands, but they found melamine in only one brand, Yashli-1, BSTI director general Md Azmal Hossain said.
Azmal Hossain also said results of the tests at three laboratories were sent to the Ministry of Commerce, and a number of recommendations were made in line with the test results.
The BSTI DG said: "So far samples of milk powder of 36 brands have been collected from markets for testing. Tests of 15 brands, including the eight, have already been completed."
"It is not mandatory for BSTI to test powder milk imported for consumption by adults," he added. "BSTI tests powder milk for consumption by children from 0 to 10 years."
Azmal Hossain also said they sent a proposal to the government for testing all imported powder milk brands at the BSTI laboratory.
Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed said the ministry received a number of recommendations from the BSTI. He said a coordination committee comprising experts of the sector would be formed by Sunday to take a decision in this regard. Then a final decision would be taken by next week on the basis of the recommendations of the coordination committee.
"After the recent discovery of melamine in milk powder in China, testing the products became urgent," he said.
The melamine milk powder scare, originating in China, spread panic worldwide over the past month, as more than 60,000 babies fell ill in China after drinking milk of two local brands. Four infants died.