Staff Reporter :
The Appellate Division of the the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday cleared the way for 11 more companies to produce, distribute and sell of their pasteurized milk.
The Chamber Judge of the Supreme Court Justice Md Nuruzzaman stayed for five weeks a part of the High Court order that directed 14 companies to stop production, distribution and sale of pasteurized milk for five weeks.
The Chamber Judge passed the order after hearing 11 separate petitions filed by the companies seeking stay on the HC order.
11companies are Aftab full cream milk of Aftab Milk and Milk Product Limited, Moo of American Dairy Limited, Dairy Fresh of Baro Awlia Dairy Milk and Foods Limited, Aarong Dairy of Brac Dairy and Food Project, Ayran of Danish Dairy Farm Limited, PURA of Ichhamoti Dairy and Food Products, Igloo of Igloo Dairy Limited, Milk Fresh of Uttar Bango Dairy, Ultra Milk of Shelaidah Dairy, Arwa of Purbo Bangla Dairy Food Industries and Safe Milk of Tania Dairy and Food Products.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam appeared for the 11 companies as an individual lawyer.
Following the SC order, there is no bar for the 11 companies to produce, distribute and sell their pasteurized milk, the AG said.
In a briefing, the AG said also, “Antibiotics in pasteurized milk do not come from outside. Antibiotics can be found in the cow milk if that cow is fed antibiotic during its sickness. If you stop producing milk for this, the milk growers will get in trouble. So, we have to see if the antibiotics in milk are tolerable or not.”
“In our country, dairy industry is a fast moving industry. If the milk growers stop their producing, milk then the industry will face a huge loss,” the AG added.
Earlier on Monday and Tuesday, the SC’s Chamber Judge cleared the way for Bangladesh Milk Producers Cooperative Union Limited (Milk Vita), Akij Food and Beverage Ltd (Farm Fresh Milk), and Pran Dairy Ltd (Pran Milk) to produce, distribute and sell pasteurized milk.
The court stayed for eight weeks part of the HC order that directed Milk Vita to stop production, distribution and sell of pasteurized milk. It stayed the HC order for the two other companies for five weeks.
The Chamber Judge passed the orders on Monday and Tuesday after holding hearing of separate petitions filed by the three companies seeking stay on the HC order.
On July 28, the High Court bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir directed the authorities concerned to stop production, distribution, sale, purchase and consumption of pasteurized milk of 14 companies, registered under the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), for the next five weeks owing to presence of antibiotics and lead in the milk, which are harmful for human body.
At the same time, the members of the public have been advised to be vigilant in the purchase and consumption of pasteurized milk.
The HC also issued a rule asking them to explain as to why the presence of antibiotics and lead in the pasteurized milk should not be declared illegal and unconstitutional.
The court passed the order after hearing on four separate laboratory reports prepared by the Institute of Public Health (IPH), ICDDRB, Feed and Food Safety Laboratory under the Institute of Bangladesh Livestock and Research Institute (BLRI) and Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
