Wholesale fruit traders keep their market closed in Badamtoli yesterday during their half-day strike protesting the police drive that led to the destruction of tonnes of fruits for being “tainted with formalin”. Photo: Banglar Chokh

Fruit traders in Dhaka and Chapainawabganj yesterday called off their strikes after assurances from the authorities concerned that they would not be “harassed” and their goods would not be destroyed.
Meanwhile, the police are now checking fruits with two types of kits to see if they have formalin in them.
“We have withdrawn the indefinite strike, considering the losses we are facing … ,” said Julhas Uddin, general secretary of the Metropolitan Fruit Traders Association.
The association had been on strike since June 19 protesting the government drive against “formalin-tainted” fruits.
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries Vice-President Helal Uddin yesterday convinced wholesale fruit traders at the city's Badamtoli to call off protest programmes. The traders had enforced a half-day strike yesterday.
The Chapainawabganj Chamber, which had declared a strike in the district for today (Sunday), also postponed its protest programme until June 26. The deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of the district in a meeting on Friday assured traders their fruits would not be destroyed.
Abdul Wahed, president of the chamber, told The Daily Star that the administration would from now on check fruits in the district and issue a certificate.
He said the administration would look into it if anyone else wanted to fine them and destroy their fruits.
Fruit traders exploded in protests after the Dhaka Metropolitan Police recently started a drive in the capital to stop formalin-tainted fruits from entering Dhaka. The police have destroyed tonnes of fruits, labelling them as contaminated.
The police were using Formaldehyde Meter Z-300, imported from the USA, to check the fruits. But it turned out that the meter was not meant to be used for this purpose. It only detects formalin particles in the air, not food items.
Monirul Islam, director (nutrition) at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), had earlier told The Daily Star, “Even if some amount of the ripening agent ethephon is present in food, the instrument [Z-300] will read that. So, its reading can never be precise at all.”
The DMP drives and destruction of fruits, mainly mangoes and litchis, had consumers panic. Many people stopped buying fruits, thus hurting traders and farmers.
Helal Uddin of FBCCI told The Daily Star yesterday, “As there are questions now over the kit, traders want cross checking … .”
“We demanded that the fruits be tested at the Science Laboratory, BSTI or the Institute of Public Health if police find traces of formalin at checkpoints with the Formaldehyde Meter. Police officials assured of considering it.”
DMP Joint Commissioner (crime and investigation) Mir Rezaul Alam said they would continue with their drive and now they were testing the fruits with the Z-300 and another kit developed by Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) for good measure.
Rezaul said, “For the last two days, we have found formalin in very small quantities of fruits.”
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Three chemists yesterday demanded the formation of a scientific committee to clear all the confusion over chemically treated food and the controversial kit to detect chemicals.
At a press conference organised by Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Consumers Association (BFFCA) at the National Press Club, Chemistry Professor Nilufar Nahar of Dhaka University (DU) said Formaldehyde Meter was not appropriate for detecting formalin in food items.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Professor Ishtiaq Mahmud of DU and Chemical Engineering teacher Mohidus Samad Khan of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology backed her claims.
“There must be a scientific committee, which will be accepted by all. Otherwise, different agencies' statements on an issue can only create confusion,” Nahar said, adding that they want to cooperate with the government.
Professor Ishtiaq Mahmud said the way the DMP was destroying fruits, it would have an adverse impact on food exports as well as tourism.
“Formalin neither ripens nor preserves fruits. But, traders may use it without knowing. We must educate everybody,” Mahmud said.
BFFCA Convener Abdul Wadud demanded strong control of formalin import and sale.
“The use of wrong kit makes us question the justification of destroying the large amount of local fruits by the mobile courts," said Shubhagoto Chowdhury of Birdem General Hospital in another seminar organised by Poribesh Bachao Andolon, Doctors for Health and Environment and Kendrio Khelaghar Ashor at Dhaka Reporters Unity.