The High Court has found under-dealing in testing of food items and said it especially increased after the removal order of 52 substandard food items from the market last month.

The court delivered its observation today while passing exemption order to Bangladesh Food Safety Authority Chairman Mahfuzul Haque.

The HC bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Razik Al-Jalil exempted the BFSA chief when he appeared before the court and offered unconditional apology for not complying with the HC’s May 12 order.

“If we find any proof of anybody’s involvement in underhand dealing, we will send him or her directly to jail instead of the Anti-Corruption Commission,” the court told the lawyer for Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) during hearing a writ petition on the issue.

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Food safety chief exempted from contempt charge after apology

The High Court (HC) on May 12 directed the authorities concerned to immediately remove from the market 52 food products which are found substandard by Bangladesh Standard Testing Institution (BSTI).

On May 23, the HC rebuked the BFSA chairman, summoned him, and issued the contempt of court rule against him for not complying with its order to get 52 sub-standard food items off the shelves.

During the hearing, the BFSA chairman was asked to conduct drives against food adulteration throughout the year with the help of other concerned agencies.

The court also ordered Directorate of National Consumers Rights Protection to launch in two months a round- the-clock hotline so that the consumers communicate with it for filing their complaints on food adulteration.