Nazir, Miniket are not rice varieties: Food minister
We will move towards stopping these brand names of rice, the food ministry secretary said
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said Miniket is a brand name of rice given by traders.
"There is no rice variety named Miniket and Nazir. Miniket rice is made by grinding and polishing Jirashail, Kataribhog and Swarna rice," he said.
He was addressing a press conference organised by Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) marking National Safe Food Day 2021 on Wednesday.
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The minister said, "As buyers prefer white shiny rice, polished rice is sold on the market. However, the reddish rice is the most nutritious, which consumers are reluctant to eat now."
Food ministry Secretary Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum said, "We are conducting a study on the matter. It shows that there is no rice variety called Miniket. We will move towards stopping these brand names of rice."
Meanwhile, the construction of BFSA laboratories in eight divisions will be completed within the next year, the food minister said.
At the press conference, BFSA highlighted its work since the enactment of the Safe Food Act 2013.
Officials of BFSA said it: formulated the grade system for hotels and restaurants, set up safe food authority offices in each district, conducted drives by 9,500 mobile courts, formulated various regulations, and recruited manpower.
Additionally, it collected a total of 1,093 food samples and tested 929 samples in six months from July 2020 to December 2020, BFSA said.
