The government yesterday filed two separate criminal cases against two local distributors of Chinese powdered milk Yashili-1, Yashili-2 and Sweet Baby-2 on charges of importing and marketing those without approval of the authorities concerned.
The accused are MA Rahim, proprietor of Mou Enterprise at Station Road, Chittagong, and Belal Ahmed Sharif, managing director of M/s Allway Trading Limited at Lalbagh in the capital.
After hearing, Metropolitan Magistrate Abdul Majid recorded statements of the complainant, took the charges into cognisance and issued arrest warrants against the distributors.
Public Health Nutrition Institution Director Prof Fatema Parvin Chowdhury filed the cases with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, Dhaka.
In her complaint, Fatema mentioned that the Mou Enterprise had been marketing Chinese powdered milk Sweet Baby-2 as local distributor, violating the rules and regulations of the Breast Milk Substitutes Ordinance, 1984. The company does not have any registration and shows no manufacturing and expiry dates on the containers, she said.
“Melamine was found in some powered milk recently. Following the development, a market monitor committee started conducting inquiry into matters in Dhaka and its adjacent areas,“ Fatema said in her complaint.
She went on that the committee, during its inquiry in different areas on September 19 this year, found that the Mou Enterprise had been importing Sweet Baby-2 from China and marketing it in Bangladesh without approval of the government.
Earlier on November 11, the home ministry in a letter had requested the secretary of the Health and Family Planning Ministry to take legal actions against the companies responsible for committing the offences.
In another case, the complainant mentioned that Allway Company had been importing powdered milk Yashili-1 and Yashili-2 from China and marketing those in Bangladesh without approval of the government.
She said the company does not have registration and shows no manufacturing and expiry dates on the container. The home ministry also requested the secretary of the Health and Family Planning Ministry to go for action against the company responsible.
Earlier, upon a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), a High Court (HC) bench on October 23 ordered the government to stop sale and display of eight brands of milk powder, including Yashili-1, Yashili-2 and Sweet Baby-2, found tainted with melamine.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday directed the health ministry to send samples of all brands of powdered milk available in domestic markets to any European country through World Health Organisation (WHO) for laboratory test and submit the reports to the High Court (HC) by December 31.
Meantime, the government yesterday banned import of three Chinese powdered milk brands–Yashili-1, Yashili-2 and Sweet Baby-2.
Categories: Bangla, Bangladesh, Bangladesh News, Daily Bangladesh News, News, Politics
