Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has ordered withdrawal of all baby food items, manufactured by French dairy group Lactalis, from the country's market due to bacterial contamination.
BFSA, through a letter issued on Sunday, has also instructed all food safety inspectors countrywide to ensure removal of the dairy products for the sake of public health.
"We ordered the traders to withdraw all batches of Lactalis products, including Baby Care-3, Baby Care-4 and Babycare MF, from the local market," BFSA secretary Dr Md Khaled Hussain told the FE.
He also said earlier BFSA ordered the importer of these items - JES International - to withdraw four batches of Baby Care-1 and Baby Care-2 from the market following 'salmonella' contamination.
According to international media, a bacterium called 'Salmonella Agona' has been detected in Lactalis products, which has affected its intake in 83 countries including Bangladesh.
Lactalis CEO Emmanuel Besnier, in an interview with French media last week, said twelve million boxes of powdered baby milk of the company were being recalled from these countries.
BFSA ordered the withdrawal of all Lactalis products through a notice published on national dailies after it came to know about the contamination last week. The same advertisement also warned the importer in this regard.
When contacted, Jawadul Huq, a partner of JES International, said they have learnt about the order through the BFSA circular published in the dailies.
Earlier, the authority sealed off 11,616 cartons of Lactalis products in the importer's warehouse. More than 993 cartons of Baby Care-1 and Baby Care-2 were recalled from the local market till January 9.
A four-member committee of BFSA has been overseeing the withdrawal process.
'Salmonella' may cause severe complexities like diarrhoea, dehydration and vomiting.
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