The wheat imported from Brazil in February and March is of sub-standard quality and a significant volume is found to be rotten, a couple of studies have concluded.
One of those studies was conducted by the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) and the other by the laboratory at the Directorate General of Food – both arranged by the government.
However, showing these two study reports to journalists at a briefing in his office on Sunday, Food Minister Kamrul Islam, who has been blamed for importing rotten wheat, claimed that there is nothing wrong with the imported grains.
The food directorate study found that six out of the 30 tested samples of the Brazilian wheat were partly rotten. The samples were collected from 30 different districts through the office of the local deputy commissioners.
The wheat samples collected from Magura, Patuakhali, Sherpur, Bogra, Sirajganj and Joypurhat district were partly rotten. “There are living insects in the samples and this [the wheat] could be distributed after controlling the insects in the proper way,” the study concluded.
The BCSIR test report, dated June 28, says: “All the supplied samples contained higher amount of shrunken and broken kernels than the supplied specification.
“The damage percentage is also higher in all the samples except those collected from Kurigram, Norail, Ganbandha and Sirajganj. The dock age percent is higher only in samples from Jenaidah, Jamalpur and Kishoreganj. All other parameters are within the normal limits,” it says.
The 10 specific parameters against which the wheat was tested by BCSIR were: test weight, heat damage kernels, damage kernels, presence of foreign materials, shrunken and broken kernels, contrasting classes, wheat of other classes, protein, moisture and dock age.
After news surfaced in the media about the rotten wheat import a few days ago, several political and rights organisations, including the main political opposition BNP, demanded Food Minister Kamrul’s resignation.
On Sunday, not only did Kamrul said there was nothing wrong with the imported wheat, he also challenged his critics saying they could collect wheat samples from any of the government warehouses and get them test in any laboratory of their choice; and he said he would cooperate.
Later Sunday night, while talking to the Dhaka Tribune over phone, the minister claimed that the published news was false and exaggerated.
Foiz Ahamed, director general of the food directorate, also did not see anything wrong with the imported wheat although he was the one who signed the report of the study conducted at his organisation’s laboratory that found living insects in the samples.
“None of the tests including the one done by our own laboratory found any sign of rotting,” he told the Dhaka Tribune over phone on Sunday night.
Recently, media reports said that around 200,000 tonnes of the wheat imported from the South American country and supplied by Singapore-based contractor Olam International was of substandard quality.
Soon after, the Food Ministry collected sealed samples and got them tested at the Directorate General of Food and the BCSIR.
