The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Experts of Dhaka University have confirmed presence of toxic melamine in eight brands of imported powdered milks available in the domestic market.

The brands are Sweet Baby, Yashili 1 and Yashili 2 of China, Nido 45 instant and Anlin of New Zealand, Redcow and Diploma of Australia and Dano of Denmark.

The DU in its report to the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) yesterday identified the brands as tainted by melamine.

The Chinese items were identified as tainted earlier by a private testing laboratory Plasma Plus. Panic gripped people in the country after the report being published.

The Government yesterday issued a press note suggesting people not to use the powdered milks under eight brands, at least for the time being.

An eight-member taskforce, headed by Additional Secretary of the Commerce Ministry Golam Mostakin, yesterday discussed the issue and sent the DU test report for five newly identified contaminated items for further cheques in the Atomic Energy Commission.

The taskforece also warned of tougher action against marketing of the banned items.

Earlier, the Ministry of Health also warned the people against the use of tainted powdered milk from three major Chinese companies for making local sweets and baby food.

BSTI selected three brands of Chinese milk including Yashili 1, Yashili 2, Sweet Baby and five other brands of milk powder including Nido 45 instant milk powder, Redcow, Diploma, Dano and Anlin for testing.

"So far milk powder of 36 brands has been collected from markets for testing. Tests of 15 brands, including these eight, have already been completed," BSTI director general Md Azmal Hossain told reporters yesterday.

"BSTI tests powder milk for consumption by children from 0 to 10 years. It is not mandatory for BSTI to test powder milk imported for consumption by adults," he said.

BSTI, the Department of Chemistry of Dhaka University and Plasma Plus tested melamine in different baby milk products following global media reports of thousands of children being affected in China.

Commerce secretary Feroz Ahmed on the other hand said a coordination committee comprising experts on the matter would be formed by Sunday to take a decision on a number of recommendations placed by the BSTI.

He said a final decision would be taken by next week on the basis of the recommendations of the coordination committee.

In reply to a question as to whether the imported milk powders are tested before marketing, and whether the brands in which tested positive for melamine have been banned for sale, the secretary said: "The issue of contamination by melamine was not known to us in the past."

"After the recent discovery of melamine in milk powder in China, testing the products became urgent."

He said, so far no brand has been banned and no company has been asked to withdraw milk powder from the market on the basis of test findings.

The government took actions, including banning brands of Chinese milk products, and made a vigorous campaign against the consumption of Chinese powdered milk.

The government is also taking steps to amend the breast milk substitute regulation of marketing ordinance-1984 in order to take sterner action against those who are importing unregulated milk powder that pose a threat to public health.

Bangladesh imported 42,587 tonnes of milk powder from 11 countries in last fiscal year. Of them, 4,747 tonnes were from Chinese companies. In last three months, Bangladesh imported 6,660 tonnes milk from different countries.