Wheat imported from Brazil edible: Official

The wheat imported from Brazil is fit for human consumption, the director general of the Directorate General of Food told the High Court after submitting a report before it today.

Foyez Ahmed, director general of the food directorate, handed over the report to Deputy Attorney General Tapos Kumar Biswas in compliance with the HC order.

After accepting the report, the High court fixed July 8 for passing an order on this issue.

The Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) recently found the imported Brazilian wheat substandard, raising questions about the results of the tests carried out by the food ministry.

Earlier on June 29, the HC following a writ petition asked the food directorate to submit a report before it in 72 hours whether the wheat is fit for human consumption.

The writ petition was filed with the High Court challenging the legality of the import and distribution of the “substandard” wheat from Brazil.

The ministry last week conducted the test in its labs after collecting samples of the wheat from district warehouses following media reports on the import of two lakh tonnes of “substandard” wheat.

Two contractors -- Netherlands-based Glencore Grain and Singapore-based Olam International -- supplied the grains to the food directorate earlier this year.

Glencore had supplied 1.5 lakh tonnes and Olam 50,000 tonnes.

The import cost was around $46 million or Tk 355 crore, and 90 percent of the payment had been made, said food ministry officials.