‘Blacklist traders involved in adulteration’

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun has called on business leaders to blacklist traders involved in counterfeiting and adulteration.

Some, not all, traders are involved in this nefarious act and business leaders should not only blacklist them but also ostracise them from their community, he told a discussion on Saturday.

The programme titled “Measurement Supporting the Global Food System” was organised at the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) headquarters in the capital’s Tejgaon marking the World Metrology Day 2023.

The minister said, “We are working on making every Bangladeshi product appreciated in the domestic and international markets.”

He said the BSTI is successfully carrying out its activities and directed it to raid manufacturing facilities to prevent counterfeiting and adulteration.

State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Mojumder said he thinks it is necessary to formulate laws with the provision of life imprisonment and even the death penalty for producing adulterated products and doing anomalies with weight.

He said the BSTI has earned praise by running anti-adulteration operations throughout the year, including during Ramadan. Such operations should be conducted at the grassroots level and traders should fully cooperate with the BSTI in this, he added.

Industries Secretary Zakia Sultana said strictly enforcing anti-counterfeiting and anti-adulteration laws would help prevent such acts to a large extent.

She also commented that nothing is difficult if officials give their best despite the limitations of resources and manpower.

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Md Jashim Uddin said the degree of food adulteration is probably the highest in Bangladesh.