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IN the last few months, the mobile teams of Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI) have been found active to ensure food safety and security of the consumers. They deserve credit, as they have been able to identify the sinful practice of food adulteration in food shops, including reputed ones, in the city. Although these drives have affected the business, these were necessary to get back the confidence of the consumers in the food market. Many consumers now feel safe to go to such shops as are found safe by this organisation. Now they at least ask questions about the products on sale, which is a sign of increased consumers' awareness about what they eat.
As the teams have been continuing the drives, it is necessary to rethink the whole measure. Recently, one of the BSTI teams fined one such delinquent shop Tk 7,000 at Shantinagar bazaar. They conducted the raid in that departmental shop and found that two among the shop's innumerable items were marketed without the approval of the BSTI. When the shop-owner tried to give his logic that he bought those items as their agent had assured him of the approval, they did not pay heed to him. So he had to pay the amount. The team had fined almost all the shops at the bazaar on similar kinds of excuses. The team members including the magistrate said that the shop-owners were at fault as they were playing with consumers' health.
But it was found that the team did not collect the receipt of the agent who was also responsible. They are responsible, as they are not only playing with the consumers' health, they are also misusing valuable foreign currency. What is more important is that without controlling such import, the BSTI's main objective would not be achieved. So the impression after watching the recent BSTI drive was that it has now become a source of earning for the authority. As they know that there are irregularities in the market, they will always be the gainer. But it should not be like that.
K Zaman
Dohs,
Dhaka
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