Formalin detector not fit to test fruits: BCSIR report
Formaldehyde Meter Z-300, which is used to detect formalin in fruits, is not ‘appropriate’ for the test, according to a report of Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR).
The machine can indicate wrong information about the presence of formalin, the BCSIR said in the report submitted to the registrar office of the Supreme Court today.
Advocate Manzill Murshid, who earlier moved a writ petition before the High Court seeking its directives on the government to examine the authenticity of this machine, also received a copy of the report.
The SC office and Murshid will now place the report before the HC after it reopens on October 20 following an ongoing vacation.
In the report, the BCSIR said in sample tests it has found that the Z-300 indicates the presence of different amount of Formaldehyde both in the fresh fruits and the fruits drenched in Formaldehyde.
The presence of Formaldehyde depends on time, temperature and humidity, it said.
The report said the Z-300 indicates the presence of Formaldehyde in fresh fruits kept in high temperature. So, it may produce a wrong result about the presence of formaldehyde in fruits which kept in high temperature.
Moreover, the machine indicates presence of formaldehyde in fruits in presence of some evaporable chemicals like acetone, formic acid, Acetic acid, and methanol, it added.
However, various chemicals, including the above mentioned ones, may produce in fruits naturally. With the presence of evaporable chemicals, the Z-300 machine may indicate misleading information about presence of the formaldehyde, the BCSIR report said.
After receiving the report, the petitioner told reporters at the SC premises that Formaldehyde Meter Z-300 is not suitable for detecting harmful chemicals in fruits.
Citing the report, Murshid said the machine is used to examine the presence of formaldehyde gas in the air. But the machine was used by mobile courts for detecting harmful chemicals in Bangladesh, which was not right.
The petitioner said he will pray to the High Court to direct the government not to use this machine.
The HC on July 21 directed the BCSIR and Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI) to examine the Formaldehyde Meter Z-300 and to submit separate reports before it in 30 days.
But the BSTI is yet to submit any report to the court, said Murshid.
A huge quantity of fruits has been damaged after examining through this faulty machine, he told The Daily Star.
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