Find proper formalin detection kit
The High Court yesterday ordered the government to buy proper formalin detection kits within next two months as the Formaldehyde Meter Z-300 has been found faulty.
It also asked the government to form an expert committee which will recommend an appropriate device for detecting formalin in foods.
The HC bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice M Khasruzzaman passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by Fruit Importers' Association.
The petition was lodged with the court in early July when the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) conducted a major drive against formalin-laced food using the Formaldehyde Meter Z-300 and destroyed tonnes of fruits, especially mangoes and litchis, on the basis of test results.
The Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) and Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) have confirmed that the kit gives inaccurate readings.
According to the HC order, the expert committee is to be formed within a week with representatives from the BSTI, BCSIR, National Food Safety Laboratory, Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) and the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science of Dhaka University.
Petitioner's counsel advocate Manzill Murshid said the committee will have to submit a compliance report to the court after three months.
Secretaries of the health and family welfare, home and food ministries have been made respondents to the order, added Murshid, also president of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.
Following the submission of reports by the BCSIR on September 23 and BSTI on November 11, Murshid prayed to the HC seeking instructions from it on picking a new formalin detection kit to check widespread use of chemicals in food.
The Department of Fisheries had imported 80 Formaldehyde Meter Z-300 from the US manufacturer Environmental Sensors Co in early 2012 and sent those to each divisions and districts for mobile court drives.
Later, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka north and south city corporations, DMP and DNCRP also bought the kit.
“As the kit has been proved inaccurate beyond doubt, those who have been affected due to its use may claim compensation for their losses,” Murshid told The Daily Star.
In that case, the importer and marketer of the kit have to pay the compensation, he added.
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