15 substandard products lose licenses
Products of 13 companies will be allowed in market if standards are met
The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution has cancelled licenses of 15 products of 13 companies as they were found substandard in laboratory tests.
The Standards and Testing Institution also directed the producers, suppliers, wholesalers and retailers to stop selling, distributing, preserving and screening commercials of the products.
Also, the Institution requested the consumers not to buy those brands.
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The products that have lost licenses are: Farm Fresh Ghee of Akij Food and Beverage, Shakti and Kitchena Soybean Oil of Shakti Edible Oil Limited, Fortified Soybean Chef of AK Khan Food and Beverage, Camel Salt of Bismillah Salt, Nazrul Salt of Janata Salt Mill, Madina Laccha Semai of JK Food Products, Modern Cream of Moden Cosmetics and Herbal Industries, GM Cream of GM Chemical Works, Arabian Special Ghee of New Chattala Limited, Raven Laccha Semai of Raven Food Company, Khajana Ghee, Khajana Laccha Semai and Khajana Chanachur of Khajana Mithai Limited. Promi Turmeric Powder of Promi Agro Food and Ifad Salt of Ifad Salt and Chemical Limited.
Surveillance teams of the Standards and Testing Institution collected the samples from local markets and ran laboratory tests.
Engineer Md Sajjadul Bari, an official of the Institution, told The Business Standard that they had taken action based on lab reports.
Deputy Director of the Institution Md Riajul Islam Haque said, "Licenses of three Khajana brands were revoked as the company no longer produces those. Other products did not have BDS (Bangladesh Standards)."
Meanwhile, Ifad Salt and Chemical Limited's Managing Director Tanvir Ahmed claimed the pH level mentioned in the BDS is tough to maintain while producing iodised salt.
"Our salt brand lost license as the pH level was high," he said, adding that they had applied to the Standards and Testing Institution for raising the pH level in the BDS.
"After several meetings, they even assured us of raising it," claimed Tanvir.
Chief Operating Officer of Akij Food and Beverage Md Mosleh Uddin said, "This news of revoking licenses is old as far as I know. The Institution is supposed to serve us with a show-cause notice if it finds any product to be substandard."
Mosleh also claimed that they were using the latest technology to manufacture Farm Fresh Ghee.
