Nationwide clampdown soon to detect date-expired drugs, food

Rezaul Karim | Published: January 17, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The government is going to launch a nationwide drive against the date-expired imported and locally-produced food items soon, officials said.
The officials said the state-run quality watchdog Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) will start examining the expiry date of packed food items, which are consumed by the people.
The decision came at the meeting of the Private Sector Development Policy Coordination Committee (PSDPCC) at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), chaired by Abdus Sobhan Sikder, principal secretary.
The government has already ordered punitive measures against the sale of date-expired food items, said a commerce ministry official who attended the meeting. Â
"We're the state legal authority to enforce and ensure consumers' protection. That's why, we are strengthening our drive to ensure the expiry date of food products," Iqramul Haque, Director General (DG) of the BSTI, told the FE Friday.Â Â Â Â Â Â
There are 155 and 43 locally produced and imported products have been brought under mandatory certification marks system of the state-run testing agency respectively. Of these, the BSTI examines 59 locally produced and 18 imported food items, he said.
Presently, some 18 food items are imported by traders according to the existing Import Policy Order 2012-2015. The customs authority sends the imported food items for check to the BSTI, which releases goods, if satisfied.
The government has channeled US$2.0 million into the state-agency for its modernisation from the Indian US$1.0 billion line of credit. A 10-storied BSTI building is being constructed, the official said, adding manpower will be enhanced to check the whole food items.
Milk powder and cream powder, lozenges, infant formula, chips/crackers, toffees, fruit or vegetable juice and processed cereal based foods for infants and young children's are being imported, which requires testing considering public interest, an official said.
According to 2007 packaged commodities rules, manufacturers' name, address and country of origin have to be incorporated into the product labeling for all products.
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