High Court questions BSTI role in controlling quality of milk

The High Court has questioned the role of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution or BSTI in controlling quality of milk, curd and cattle feed.

The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam expressed ire on Tuesday when the lawyer of the country’s main testing authoty, Sarker MR Hasan Mamun, questioned the test results by National Food Safety Laboratory or NFSL on dairy products.

“You are questioning tests conducted by others! Why don’t you conduct the tests yourself? Why have you failed to submit a report after conducting the tests?” Justice Talukder asked the counsel.

“You have taken the charge but are not doing your duties. Why is the truth not revealed in your tests? You can’t simply sit in the comfort of air-conditioned rooms. Why can’t you do this (conduct tests) while international tests are finding it?” the judge added.       

Lawyer Mohammad Faridul Islam represented the NFSL while the lab’s chief Shahnila Ferdousi was also present.

The court asked the BSTI and Food Safety Authority to submit a report on tests on samples of milk, dairy products and cattle feed from across Bangladesh within June 23, Deputy Attorney General Amin Uddin Manik, who stood for the state at the hearings, told the media.

The High Court is hearing a set of rules it had issued in February on its own volition after seeing media reports that NFSL has found high levels of bacteria, insecticide, antibiotics, lead and other contaminants in raw milk, making it harmful for human consumption.

When Shahnila presented the NFSL report, BSTI lawyer Mamun asked whether there was any scope of proving that the report was true.

“They (NFSL) haven’t cross-checked their findings in other labs. They collected samples from Dhaka, Narayanganj and Savar while most of milk comes from Pabna, Sirajganj and Jashore,” Mamun argued.

But the court was far from impressed and pointed out that Shahnila was not an accused, but an expert called to assist the court.

Shahnila said their tests were not done on samples collected from only three districts, but these were done on large dairy products of big firms as well.

She added that chemicals, antibiotics and lead were found also in the studies by the iccddr,b and Science Laboratory (Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research or BCSIR).

Lawyer Syed Mamun Mahbub stood for the Anti-Corruption Commission or ACC, which had been ordered to open an investigation into the adulteration of dairy products marketed in Bangladesh and take legal action against individuals or organisations involved.

The High Court had also ordered the government to form a committee to identify those responsible for the contamination of milk and to determine the level of bacteria, insecticide, antibiotics, lead and other contaminants in dairy products.