UNB, Dhaka :
On Thursday last country’s food safety regulator slapped a ban on marketing of all imported powdered milk without lab tests following concerns over traces of heavy metals in some batches of milk powder.
However a decision on powdered milk already in the wholesale and retail stores across the country remains pending.
Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) now decided to go for lab tests on more batches of powdered milk before asking representatives of powdered milk producers and marketers to its office next week and decide on product recalls from domestic market, if necessary. BFSA Member, M Mahbub Kabir, told UNB yesterday that whether or not milk powders already on sale in the market have to be put off the shelves or destroyed that “we’ll decide upon completion and findings of tests now being carried out on different batches of milk powders and we’ll hold a meeting next week with the powdered milk producers.”
Kabir was speaking at a city discussion organised by Bangladesh Safe Agro Food Efforts (BSAFE) Foundation to come up with recommendations for ensuring safe food ahead of February 2, the day Bangladesh government will observe for the first time as National Safe Food Day. On Thursday BFSA issued circular making it mandatory for all imported powdered milks to be lab tested prior release from importers’ godowns to the market. BFSA stated that it found high concentration of lead in some batches of imported powdered milk. Earlier from January 1 this year BFSA started applying a similar rule of lab tests prior marketing of all imported fish in the country. Earlier this month JS International, the local agent of French multinational dairy products corporation, Lactalis, started recalling baby milk formula sold in Bangladesh market as a precaution against salmonella contamination. According to BFSA and JS International, the French health authorities concluded 620 batches of the company’s products had to be recalled and banned for consumption and export, equating to almost 7,000 tonnes of goods. Fourteen importing countries, including Bangladesh, were alerted in this regard.
Lactalis believes the contamination happened at one of its drying towers in north-west France in early May last year. As a precaution, it decided to recall all the products manufactured at the site since February 15, 2017 and shut down the relevant facilities for cleaning and disinfection.
On Thursday last country’s food safety regulator slapped a ban on marketing of all imported powdered milk without lab tests following concerns over traces of heavy metals in some batches of milk powder.
However a decision on powdered milk already in the wholesale and retail stores across the country remains pending.
Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) now decided to go for lab tests on more batches of powdered milk before asking representatives of powdered milk producers and marketers to its office next week and decide on product recalls from domestic market, if necessary. BFSA Member, M Mahbub Kabir, told UNB yesterday that whether or not milk powders already on sale in the market have to be put off the shelves or destroyed that “we’ll decide upon completion and findings of tests now being carried out on different batches of milk powders and we’ll hold a meeting next week with the powdered milk producers.”
Kabir was speaking at a city discussion organised by Bangladesh Safe Agro Food Efforts (BSAFE) Foundation to come up with recommendations for ensuring safe food ahead of February 2, the day Bangladesh government will observe for the first time as National Safe Food Day. On Thursday BFSA issued circular making it mandatory for all imported powdered milks to be lab tested prior release from importers’ godowns to the market. BFSA stated that it found high concentration of lead in some batches of imported powdered milk. Earlier from January 1 this year BFSA started applying a similar rule of lab tests prior marketing of all imported fish in the country. Earlier this month JS International, the local agent of French multinational dairy products corporation, Lactalis, started recalling baby milk formula sold in Bangladesh market as a precaution against salmonella contamination. According to BFSA and JS International, the French health authorities concluded 620 batches of the company’s products had to be recalled and banned for consumption and export, equating to almost 7,000 tonnes of goods. Fourteen importing countries, including Bangladesh, were alerted in this regard.
Lactalis believes the contamination happened at one of its drying towers in north-west France in early May last year. As a precaution, it decided to recall all the products manufactured at the site since February 15, 2017 and shut down the relevant facilities for cleaning and disinfection.
