The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has ordered 10 products withdrawn from the market after they failed to meet the Bangladesh Standard in laboratory tests. They include spice mixes made by Bombay Sweets and Baghabari ghee.
Show-cause notices have been issued asking why the BSTI licences for these products should not be cancelled. Because the tests proved the products substandard, the agency has also advised consumers not to buy them. BSTI gave the information in a press release on Wednesday, 26 August.
Ghee made without milk fat
As part of its regular surveillance, BSTI collects products of various companies from the market and tests them in its own modern laboratory of international standard. Many products were found to be of the correct quality, but some brands of ghee, butter oil and spices failed.
The tests found that Baghabari "ghee" contained no ghee (milk fat) at all; it was being made from palm olein and vanaspati and sold as ghee. Bombay Sweets' spices were found below the Bangladesh Standard (BDS) on several parameters.
According to the results, Bombay Sweets and Company Limited's curry powder duck meat masala (batch 141224), tehari masala (batch 140226), kala bhuna masala (batch 260927), beef masala (batch A) and fish masala (batch A) failed because their total ash and salt levels exceeded the Bangladesh Standard.
The ghee and butter oil makers whose products fell below standard are:
- Baghabari Premium Ghee Company, 'Baghabari' brand ghee
- Kishoreganj Food Products, 'Arun Baghabari' brand ghee
- M/s Mamun Food Products, 'New Radhuni' brand ghee
- M/s Mamun Food Products, 'City' brand ghee
- Elders Food Products and Packaging Industries, 'Elders' brand butter oil
These ghee brands failed on several parameters: their refractive index, iodine value, saponification value and Polenske value were outside the set limits.
Director general's warning
BSTI Director General (Secretary) Kazi Imdadul Haque said maintaining product quality according to the national standard is the legal and moral duty of every licensed firm. If any firm fails in that duty, BSTI is determined to take the necessary legal action. Alongside certifying product quality, BSTI is keeping strict watch through surveillance to stop counterfeiting and adulteration.
He advised buyers to check the BSTI standard mark, licence number, manufacturing date, expiry date, ingredients and other necessary information before buying a product.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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