The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has ordered the withdrawal of eight types of products from four companies from the market as they reportedly failed to meet the criteria of standards.
The BSTI, the country's product standard formulation and regulatory body, came up with the directives as excessive preservatives and microorganisms harmful to human health were found in some products while others failed to maintain quality standards, a statement said on Monday.
Among the noncompliant goods, mango pickle of Fresh Garden Agro Resources (Batch No.-FGMP200G0426) was found to contain excessive preservatives. Kazi Food Industries Ltd's Bellisimo brand Rotondo Hazelnut Coated Chocolate (Batch No. 26050101A) ice cream had been found to contain total milk solid non-fat in excess of Bangladesh standards.
Olive Bangladesh Ltd's Labanya brand Milk Skin Lotion (Batch No. 2961104A) and Aloe Vera Skin Lotion (Batch No. 2961204A); Olive and Labanya brand face wash Moringa + Matcha (Batch No. 2951404A) Foaming Milk and Tulsi (Batch No. 2951204A) and Labanya brand Aloe Vera variant shampoo (Batch No. 2921304A) had been found to contain harmful microorganisms for the human body.
In addition, the mango and orange variant soft drink powder of Deco Fruit Funda brand of Deco Foods Ltd. (Batch No. 133) had been found to have less vitamin 'C' than the Bangladesh standard level.
The statement also said the BSTI had already issued rejection letters to the institutions concerned regarding the products that failed the test and instructed the companies to refrain from manufacture, sales and distribution of the products until the product license is renewed or approved.
In the statement, BSTI Director General (Secretary) Kazi Imdadul Haque said they were committed to ensuring that the public can purchase quality products.
He advised the public to verify the BSTI quality mark, license number, production date, expiration date and other necessary information before purchasing the product.
The top BSTI official also requested the consumers to immediately inform the regulator if they detect substandard quality, adulteration, and misuse of the BSTI quality mark.
saif.febd@gmail.com