Ban on sale of 3 Chinese baby food brands
Monday, 22 September 2008
FE Report
Bangladesh Sunday imposed a ban on the sale of three Chinese baby food brands, which are being sold in the domestic markets and have been reported to contain harmful 'melamine', a top government official said.
Secretary of the commerce ministry Feroz Ahmed after a meeting told the reporters that: "We have found around 50 packets of the baby food formulas produced by Qingdao Suncare Co Ltd and Yashili in two shops in Dhaka."
The formulas include 'Sweet Baby' produced by Qingdao Suncare Co Ltd and 'Yashili-1 and 2' produced by Yashili.
He further said Bangladesh Standard Testing Institute (BSTI) will publish a notice Monday restricting the sale of these three baby food formulas imported from China which were marketed illegally by their importers.
"We will request you not to feed the baby food formulas of these Chinese companies to the children until test is completed," Mr. Ahmed said.
Quoting the government's registration authority, he said two local importers-All Way Trading of Dhaka and Mousumi Enterprise of Chittagong-- imported the products from China and marketed those without taking permission.
"The meeting asked the government's Registration Authority to take move to punish those importers which marketed the baby food formulas illegally," he said.
Mr. Ahmed said the BSTI has already collected samples to test whether melamine is present in the baby food formulas imported from China as reported in a number of local and international media.
Media reports quoted China's director of quarantine and inspection that China's largest milk producer Mengniu Dairy Group announced the recall of three batches of formula produced in January this year after tests showed they were melamine-contaminated.
Three babies died and at least 6,200 children fell sick in China after being fed the milk formula tainted with melamine, said the reports.
Fatema Parveen, director of the Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN), yesterday said the brands' distributors have already been asked to withdraw the products from market as it was not tested and registered. The brand has not yet got marketing clearance, she added.
Replying to a question, the BSTI director general Amzad Hossain said: "We will also conduct similar tests on baby food formulas imported from other countries of the world to know whether they are also free from melamine or not."
In the last fiscal ending June 2008, Bangladesh imported 42,587 tones of milk powder from the countries of which, 4747 tones were imported from China.
However, the commerce secretary said the government agencies concerned has been instructed from the meeting to keep an eye on whether there are any other unregistered Chinese brands milk products on the market.
Bangladesh Sunday imposed a ban on the sale of three Chinese baby food brands, which are being sold in the domestic markets and have been reported to contain harmful 'melamine', a top government official said.
Secretary of the commerce ministry Feroz Ahmed after a meeting told the reporters that: "We have found around 50 packets of the baby food formulas produced by Qingdao Suncare Co Ltd and Yashili in two shops in Dhaka."
The formulas include 'Sweet Baby' produced by Qingdao Suncare Co Ltd and 'Yashili-1 and 2' produced by Yashili.
He further said Bangladesh Standard Testing Institute (BSTI) will publish a notice Monday restricting the sale of these three baby food formulas imported from China which were marketed illegally by their importers.
"We will request you not to feed the baby food formulas of these Chinese companies to the children until test is completed," Mr. Ahmed said.
Quoting the government's registration authority, he said two local importers-All Way Trading of Dhaka and Mousumi Enterprise of Chittagong-- imported the products from China and marketed those without taking permission.
"The meeting asked the government's Registration Authority to take move to punish those importers which marketed the baby food formulas illegally," he said.
Mr. Ahmed said the BSTI has already collected samples to test whether melamine is present in the baby food formulas imported from China as reported in a number of local and international media.
Media reports quoted China's director of quarantine and inspection that China's largest milk producer Mengniu Dairy Group announced the recall of three batches of formula produced in January this year after tests showed they were melamine-contaminated.
Three babies died and at least 6,200 children fell sick in China after being fed the milk formula tainted with melamine, said the reports.
Fatema Parveen, director of the Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN), yesterday said the brands' distributors have already been asked to withdraw the products from market as it was not tested and registered. The brand has not yet got marketing clearance, she added.
Replying to a question, the BSTI director general Amzad Hossain said: "We will also conduct similar tests on baby food formulas imported from other countries of the world to know whether they are also free from melamine or not."
In the last fiscal ending June 2008, Bangladesh imported 42,587 tones of milk powder from the countries of which, 4747 tones were imported from China.
However, the commerce secretary said the government agencies concerned has been instructed from the meeting to keep an eye on whether there are any other unregistered Chinese brands milk products on the market.