BSTI to run countrywide drives during Ramadan

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) will carry out special drives across the country during the holy month of Ramadan to monitor whether businesses are cheating in weight or selling substandard and adulterated foods.

The BSTI will carry out its surveillance activities with additional mobile courts apart from the existing ones to ensure safe foods for the consumers, Industries Secretary Zakia Sultana said at a press briefing at her office in the ministry in Dhaka today.

"The mobile courts led by executive magistrates will act in the capital throughout the month of Ramadan, including holidays in cooperation with the law enforcement agencies, including police and Rapid Action Battalion."

It will also work to prevent sales of adulterated Iftar and Sehri foods and products by hotels and restaurants, she said.

Apart from the capital city, she said, the mobile courts will conduct drives in Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Tangail, Narsingdi, Gazipur, Kishoreganj and other districts.

The directives were also given to the divisional and district BSTI offices to carry out mobile court drives at upazila levels with help from the local administration, she added.

To ensure safe food during Ramadan, the BSTI has recently collected some 826 food items from the market. The institution found that 760 of the items have maintained standard while 14 were substandard.

The BSTI also served show cause notices on 14 businesses in this regard.