No narcotic substances found in energy drinks: Industries Minister

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun on Thursday told Parliament that soft drinks like Tiger, Speed and Guru, which are being marketed, took licences as carbonated beverages from the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) following proper procedures.

"No presence of narcotic substances were found in the samples of beverage products (Speed, Royal Tiger, Black Horse, Bulldozer, Power, Guru, Gear, Strong and Red Bull) by the Department of Narcotics Control and the Directorate General of Drug Administration," he said.

The minister said this replying to a question from Awami League lawmaker Nurunnabi Chowdhury (Bhola-3) during the question-answer session in the House.

In the question, the lawmaker wanted to know if it is true that the energy drinks in the name of energy are injecting dangerous diseases into the human body, and many brands contain narcotic ingredients, energy drinks of 27 brands are being sold under fake licences of the BSTI, aphrodisiac Viagra ingredients are being mixed, energy drinks have become soft drinks through tax evasion. 

He also wanted to know whether the BSTI will take strict action against these, if the allegations are true.

The industries minister said the government has so far brought 273 products under the BSTI. Energy drinks are not considered as compulsory products in the country.

However, the locally produced drinks like Tiger, Speed, Guru and others, which are being marketed in the country, collected the BSTI licences as carbonated beverages following the proper procedures, he said.

In the last one year, as many as 237 samples of the drink items were collected and tested in the labs. "But all the samples succeeded as per Bangladesh standards," said Nurul Majid.

He, however, said monitoring continues against the mixture of narcotics with drinks and the marketing of drinks in the name of energy drinks.