HC bans sale of antibiotics for cattle without prescription

The High Court (HC) has banned the sale of antibiotics for cattle and its administration without a prescription from a veterinarian, reports bdnews24.com.

The bench of Justice Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam passed the order after a hearing on Tuesday.

Bangladesh Food Safety Authority submitted a report to the court which outlined the discovery of traces of lead in 11 of the 14 pasteurised milk brands approved by Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute.

The authority also found the presence of cadmium in raw milk being sold in the market, according to the report.

The court subsequently ordered the food safety body to report back on the measures taken by it to tackle the adulteration of milk and livestock fodder on July 28.

At the same time, a rule was issued by the court asking the BSTI and its licensed milk brands why the companies should not fund laboratory testing and research on its products in the public interest.

UNB adds: Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) on Tuesday claimed to have found excessive amount of lead in pasteurised milk produced by 11 licensed companies.

It filed a report to the High Court on Tuesday, saying that the presence of cadmium was also found in the samples.

The 11 companies are Milk Vita, Dairy Fresh, Igloo, Farm Fresh, Aftab Milk, Ultra Milk, Aarong, Pran Milk, Ayron, Peura and Sef Brand.