The High Court yesterday ordered the government to buy accurate formaldehyde meters, a kit used for detecting formalin levels in food items, within two months.
The court also ordered the authorities concerned to submit a compliance report within three months regarding the steps taken in buying the formalin testing kit.
An HC bench comprising of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Md Khasruzzaman passed the order following a hearing on a writ petition filed by the president and secretary of Fruit Importers Association.
The HC also ordered the health secretary, food secretary and home secretary to form a committee on selecting an accurate device within seven days and asked to submit a report in this regard.
The expert body has to have representatives from Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI) and Directorate of Consumers Rights and Food and Nutrition Science department of Dhaka University, the order stated. In a separate order, the Finance Ministry was asked to allocate necessary funds for buying the formalin testing machine.
The orders came after two government organisations – BCSIR and BSTI – submitted separate reports stating that the currently used formalin testing device, Formaldehyde Meter Z-300, was not appropriate for testing fruits. The reports were submitted on September 23 and on November 12 by organisations respectively. On July 21, an HC bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Md Habibul Gani ordered the government to conduct laboratory tests to clarify the claims of faulty device.
