The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

In a latest move the High Court yesterday lifted for three weeks the ban on sale, display and marketing of five brands of suspected melamine-tainted powdered milk to collect samples for fresh laboratory test.

The embargo temporarily goes from Diploma and Red Cow of Australia, Dano of Denmark, and Nido and Anlene of New Zealand. However, the ban was retained on China made Yashili-1, Yashili-2 and Sweet Baby-2 of China.

A division bench comprising Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Quamrul Islam Siddiqui passed the interim order of fresh laboratory test as the court found contradiction in the laboratory test reports, said Manzill Murshid, counsel for the writ petitioner Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).

In a series of orders, the HC bench directed the Health Ministry to conduct fresh laboratory test at the Dhaka University, BSTI and Atomic Energy Commission, after collecting samples of all available brands of powdered milk and submit all the test reports through the Supreme Court registrar within three weeks. The collection of samples would have to be done in a transparent manner with due representation, including from the producers, said the court order.

Besides, the HC asked the Health Ministry to procure a certificate from the World Health Organization (WHO) as to whether the melamine-tainted powdered milk is harmful to human health.

The Court also asked the Government to publish all the laboratory test reports on the eight foreign brands of suspected melamine-tainted powdered milk so that the consumers can make a well-informed choice.