The sale of unhealthy and date-expired foods in fast food shops, confectionaries and hotels in Rajshahi has become rampant amid lax drive against food adulteration.
Availing lack of monitoring by the Directorate of National Consumer Right Protection, the unscrupulous traders are selling date expired and spurious commodities.The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution Rajshahi office does not have necessary equipment to ensure quality of products in the local markets — this being another major cause behind the slack monitoring, sources said.
Sometimes, with the shortage of manpower and also equipment, the Directorate of National Consumer Right Protection Rajshahi divisional office conducts mobile court to check food adulteration but this is not enough to stop the malpractice.
During a drive on Sunday, the DNCRP Rajshahi divisional office fined one hotel and three confectionaries at Shaheb Bazar area in the city Tk 35,000 on the charge of not using expiry-date on their products.
With the help of the BSTI Rajshahi office, led by deputy director of the directorate division office Sukumar Chandra Kundu, the mobile court fined Kamal Hotel and Restaurant Tk 5,000, Ruchita Confectionery Tk 10,000, Biscuit Bipony Tk 15,000 and Jannat Bekary and Confectionary Tk 5,000.
Assistant director of the BSTI Rajshahi Shahadat Hossain and assistant director of DNCRP Abul Kalam Azad and Rajshahi chapter president of Consumer Association of Bangladesh Kazi Gias were also present during the drive.
When contacted, Sukumar Kundu said their monitoring teams monitor the market — from production level to the kitchen markets of Rajshahi.
He also said their teams had also been empowered to take stern action against dishonest businessmen including closure of the errant shops.
He also suggested building up awareness among all to stop this malpractice.
Sukumar Kundu, however, confessed the BSTI lacked necessary equipment to ensure quality of products in the local markets.
-With New Age input
