The government has decided to test Pran’s turmeric powder as the US government has recently detected excessive use of lead in the item available in stores there.
“The National Consumer Rights Protection Department has started collecting packets of Pran’s turmeric powder across the country through random sampling,” Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune on Monday.
The samples would be tested at the laboratories of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR).
“We will decide the fate of Pran’s turmeric powder after the testing,” the commerce secretary said.
The US government’s test found high levels of lead, ranging from 28ppm to 53ppm in Pran’s turmeric powder.
The permissible limit of lead in a product in Bangladesh is 2.5ppm. According to BSTI officials, the limit may vary from country to country but it cannot exceed 2.5ppm in any country.
The Pran-RFL Group would be in deep trouble if the US government’s finding turned out to be true, Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed said.
The Pran-RFL Group has, however, already refused to withdraw the product from local markets, claiming to have tested samples of the spice and found no lead in it.