The High Court directed the government Monday to conduct laboratory test of the very formalin-detector machine, 'Formaldehyde Meter Z-300', to ascertain first its efficacy for accurately detecting formalin in foodstuffs.
Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI), Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) and National Food Safety Laboratory have been designated as the testers of the test machine.
A High Court bench, issuing the order, asked the government to submit the test reports before the court in four weeks.
In response to a writ petition, the court issued a rule upon the government to explain in four weeks why its action in using the machine to detect formalin in fruits and vegetables "should not be declared illegal".
The HC bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Md Habibul Gani gave the order and rules following the writ petition filed recently by two fruit traders.
In the petition, traders Sirajul Islam and Swadhon Chandra Das said the machine is faulty and it is not fit for testing formalin in food items.
The machine shows presence of formalin in all the fruits when it is used to detect the harmful chemical in food items.
And, therefore, the law enforcers had damaged all fruits during the anti-formalin drives in the capital, which created an adverse impact on the economy, they pointed out.
The petitioners contended that a US company named Environmental Sensors Com, which produced the machine, said Formaldehyde Meter Z-300 is not fit for detecting formalin.
HC orders efficacy test of formalin-testing kit
FE Report | Published: July 22, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
Share if you like