Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has directed the companies to recall their 52 substandard products within next three days in exercise of the powers conferred to it under the Food Safety Act, 2013.
The BFSA came up with the directive through issuing a public notice in the newspapers on Wednesday.
The notice also published a full list of the 52 substandard products and name of their manufacturers.
The High Court (HC) earlier ordered authorities concerned to withdraw these products from the market, found to be substandard in tests conducted by the Bangladesh Standard Testing Institution (BSTI).
The HC bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Razik-al-Jalil gave the order on Sunday, after hearing a petition seeking withdrawal of these substandard products, following a BSTI report earlier this month
“We issued the notice to implement the court order,” Dr Shahadev Chandra Saha, Director of Enforcement of BFSA, told The New Nation on Wednesday.
Through the notice, he said, the concerned manufacturers, dealers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and consumers have been warned of not to produce, process, stockpile, transport, supply and sale of the substandard products. At the same time, the BSFA notice has been asked the companies concerned to withdraw their products within three days of publishing the notice under the provision of Section 43 of the Food Safety Act-2013.
“If any person has reason to believe that the article of food or food ingredient which he has produced, processed, supplied or sold does not comply with the standard prescribed by this Act or any law or contains any contaminant, radioactive or irradiated substances, or any poisonous or hazardous matter; he shall disclose and circulate the matter with reasons to the general public, and shall, with an intimation to concerned authority, immediately take necessary step to withdraw such article of food or food ingredient from the market or consumers in the manner prescribed by regulations,” according to sub-section (1) of the Section 43 of the Food Safety Act, 2013.
“If the Authority (BSFA) has reason to believe that any article of food or food ingredient produced, processed, supplied or sold by any person, does not comply with the standard prescribed by this Act or any other law, or contains any contaminant, radioactive or irradiated substances, or any poisonous or hazardous matter, it shall issue an order directing the concerned person to withdraw the suspected or risky article of food or food ingredient from the market or consumers, and such person shall, upon such direction, take necessary steps to withdraw such article of food or food ingredient as per the provision of sub-section (1),” according to subsection (2) of the Section 43 of the Food safety Act, 2013.
“BFSA published the notice in the newspapers so that all can know about its directive. The concerned manufacturers will face tough action if they do not comply with the BSFA notice,” cited Dr Shahadev Chandra Saha.
He also said that we go for enforcement through mobile courts if companies are not withdraw their products from the market within the aforesaid time.
