Alongside testing infant milk formula for tracing of melamine, the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has collected samples of Cadbury chocolate whether they are tainted with melamine.
Following the reports of the presence of melamine in the Cadbury chocolates in Hong Kong different countries have started recalling this product from their market, which has made the government worried over the issue.
As the process of testing melamine in baby milk formula and chocolate is not the same, it will take some more time to test melamine presence in chocolates, BSTI authorities said adding that it might start examining the Cadbury chocolates within a day or two.
However, it has also sent the samples of Cadbury Chocolates imported from India, Australia, Singapore, Dubai and United Kingdom to a private testing laboratory, Plasma Plus, on Saturday.
“Plasma Plus started the test yesterday. We may get the result within three to four days from that laboratory,” said Dr Ashish Ratan Sen, deputy director (testing control) of the laboratory, to The Daily Star.
Following the warning message from the Health Advisor Dr AMM Shawkat Ali on Thursday for not consuming the Cadbury Chocolates for the time being, the BSTI has been collecting the samples of the chocolate since the Eid day and carrying out market surveillance.
Expressing concern over the melamine issue Dr Ashish Ratan Sen also said that deadly presence of melamine in food items might take a serious turn and it seemed the country would have to test melamine in other milk products like biscuits, liquid milk and ice cream, etc also.
He also said that BSTI would not be able to conduct testing of so many items and it is high time that facilities in other laboratories of the country were developed.
Melamine was found in 11 types of chocolates of Cadbury brand in China. Even in Canada it is found in the milk products. Hongkong-based Cadbury Asia Pacific markets the product.
Earlier, melamine was found only in Chinese powdered milk that had sickened 53,000 children and killed four in China.
As the melamine scare spread, the government of Bangladesh started to test melamine in powdered milk. The BSTI, the department of Chemistry of Dhaka University and a private laboratory have been conducting the testing.
The private laboratory, Plasma Plus has already found melamine in Yashili 1 milk powder, which had been marketed in the country without registration.
Categories: Bangla, Bangladesh, Bangladesh News, Daily Bangladesh News
