The High Court has ordered the government to collect accurate Formaldehyde Meter Z-300, a kit in use for detecting formalin in food, within two months.
An HC bench comprising of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Md Khosruzzaman passed the order on Monday afternoon.
The court also ordered the authorities to submit a compliance report within three months regarding the steps taken to collect the formalin testing kit.
The High Court ordered health secretary, food secretary and home secretary to form a committee on selecting the machine within seven days and also asked to submit a report in this regard.
In a separate order, the finance ministry was asked to allocate necessary amount of money for buying the formalin detector machine ‘Formaldehyde Meter Z-300’.
On September 23, Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) submitted a report to the HC that the formalin detector machine ‘Formaldehyde Meter Z-300’ was not "appropriate" for testing fruits.
Earlier on July 9, Manzill Murshid filed a writ petition before the High Court seeking its directives on the government to examine the fitness of the ‘Formaldehyde Meter Z-300.’
On July 21, an HC bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Md Habibul Gani ordered the government to conduct laboratory tests of the formalin detector machine ‘Formaldehyde Meter Z-300’.
Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI), Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) and National Food Safety Laboratory have been asked to submit the reports after examining the test within four weeks.
The BSTI is yet to submit any report in this regard.
