CAB seeks tough laws, coordination council to ensure food, drug quality
Monday, 3 August 2009
FE Report
A leading consumer watchdog Sunday demanded tough regulations for pharmaceutical companies, a coordinated council with real teeth and a sophisticated testing lab to ensure quality of food, medicine and cosmetics in the country.
The Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) made the demand, as it sought exemplary punishment to the manufacturer of the toxic paracetamol syrup, blamed for the deaths of 26 children in the past six weeks.
"An unexpected tragedy has happened," ABM Faroque, a Dhaka university Pharmaceutical Technology professor and a leading expert of food and drug testing, told a press briefing in Dhaka.
"Yet the government has not been able to prosecute the culprits responsible for the deaths of more than two dozen children."
Faroque said the country's existing laws are too lenient for the drug manufacturers that make and market spurious drugs in the country.
"A person is only fined a maximum Tk 200,000 and sentenced to 10 years in jail if he is found guilty of manufacturing or marketing adulterated drugs," he said.
The government last week shut down Rid Pharmaceutical in Brahmanbaria for manufacturing paracetomal syrup that used toxic chemical diethylene glycol as its solvent.
The cheap chemical is mainly used in leather, rubber and textile dyeing factories but can cause renal failure if consumed by human being.
Faruque said the government should formulate tougher laws so that the culprits like Rid's owners can't get away with their crimes years after years.
"It's time the government should show some real teeth and look after the consumers' health," he added. "We have to rethink about the licensing procedures for pharmaceuticals and make their testing tougher."
CAB experts speaking at the briefing said there has been lack of coordination among different government bodies entrusted with ensuring quality control in drug and cosmetic manufacturing and food processing industry.
A leading consumer watchdog Sunday demanded tough regulations for pharmaceutical companies, a coordinated council with real teeth and a sophisticated testing lab to ensure quality of food, medicine and cosmetics in the country.
The Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) made the demand, as it sought exemplary punishment to the manufacturer of the toxic paracetamol syrup, blamed for the deaths of 26 children in the past six weeks.
"An unexpected tragedy has happened," ABM Faroque, a Dhaka university Pharmaceutical Technology professor and a leading expert of food and drug testing, told a press briefing in Dhaka.
"Yet the government has not been able to prosecute the culprits responsible for the deaths of more than two dozen children."
Faroque said the country's existing laws are too lenient for the drug manufacturers that make and market spurious drugs in the country.
"A person is only fined a maximum Tk 200,000 and sentenced to 10 years in jail if he is found guilty of manufacturing or marketing adulterated drugs," he said.
The government last week shut down Rid Pharmaceutical in Brahmanbaria for manufacturing paracetomal syrup that used toxic chemical diethylene glycol as its solvent.
The cheap chemical is mainly used in leather, rubber and textile dyeing factories but can cause renal failure if consumed by human being.
Faruque said the government should formulate tougher laws so that the culprits like Rid's owners can't get away with their crimes years after years.
"It's time the government should show some real teeth and look after the consumers' health," he added. "We have to rethink about the licensing procedures for pharmaceuticals and make their testing tougher."
CAB experts speaking at the briefing said there has been lack of coordination among different government bodies entrusted with ensuring quality control in drug and cosmetic manufacturing and food processing industry.