Bangladesh Bank has asked scheduled banks to submit information about import of ‘controversial’ genetically modified soya bean oil as the importers are now importing the products violating the existing acts and regulations. Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association earlier applied to the commerce ministry under the Right to Information Act 2009 seeking know information on which brands of genetically modified soya bean oil were now being imported from which countries.
The commerce ministry later requested the central bank to collect the data in this connection as the Bangladesh Bank monitored the country’s import and export related transaction.
As part of the move, the central bank issued a letter to managing directors and chief executive officers of all scheduled banks on February 25 asking them to provide it with the information in this regard.
Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association deputy project coordinator Rehnuma Nurain filed the application with the commerce ministry seeking the information.
Rehnuma, in her application, said that the importers had no authority to import any types of genetically modified products without labelling.
The Product Labelling Policy 2006, the Bio-safety Guideline 2007, the Bio-safety Rules 2012 and the Food Safety Act 2013 stipulated that if any genetically modified product was imported, it must be labelled ‘Genetically Modified Product,’ the application said.
It said that the importers were importing genetically modified soya bean oil over the years as the government agencies concerned had recently claimed that the imported genetically modified soya bean oil had put no adverse impact on human health.
Rehnuma also wanted to know what measures were taken to make consumers aware tagging ‘genetically modified’ label on containers of the products.
Rehnuma told New Age on Tuesday that she had submitted the application on behalf of the association as the government said that the businesspeople imported genetically modified soya bean oil over the years.
The government has already created controversy as the ministry of environment and forest has recently approved the cultivation of genetically modified BT Brinjal, she said.
Many countries have banned cultivation of Bt Brinjal and soya bean as such products are harmful for human health, she said.
The government claimed the Bt Brinjal would not cause any harm to human health as the local people were now using genetically modified soya bean oil, said Rehnuma.
A central bank official said that some banks already sent the data and stated that no importer labelled the
imported genetically modified soya bean oil.
‘So, it is a tough job for the Bangladesh Bank and the scheduled banks to sor out the genetically modified soya bean oil,’ he said.
Both the importers and the exporters usually come up an agreement not to label their genetically modified products, he said.
He, however, said that the central bank would try to detect genetically modified imported products as such products already created controversy in many countries.
-With New Age input
