Three Dhaka businesses fined Tk 150,000 for storing loose edible oil in unhygienic drums

The National Consumers' Right Protection Directorate has fined three businesses in the capital a total of Tk 150,000 for storing loose edible oil in unhygienic and dirty drums and for selling unlabelled soybean and palm oil.

The fines were imposed during drives on Monday (26 October) in the Shah Ali Bazar, Mirpur-1 and the Notun Bazar area of Kalyanpur in the capital.

Of the fines, Messrs New Ahmed Traders of Shah Ali Bazar was fined Tk 70,000, New Howlader Traders of the same market Tk 50,000, and Messrs Hashem General Store of Notun Bazar in Kalyanpur Tk 30,000. The fine amounts were collected on the spot from all three establishments.

The drive was conducted under the industries ministry's 'Digitisation of Fortification of Edible Oil for Improved Monitoring, Quality Control and Capacity Building' project.

According to directorate sources, the drive was led by Muhammad Hasanuzzaman, assistant director of the Dhaka district office, and Tahmina Begum, assistant director of the head office. Representatives of the National Consumers' Right Protection Directorate, the industries ministry, the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, the Bangladesh Industrial Technical Assistance Centre (BITAC) and the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) took part.

During the drive, evidence was found at New Ahmed Traders in Shah Ali Bazar of loose edible oil being stored in dirty and unhygienic drums.

At New Howlader Traders in the same market, unlabelled loose soybean and palm oil was being stored in unhygienic drums. The same kind of irregularity was also detected at Messrs Hashem General Store in Notun Bazar, Kalyanpur.

During the drive, traders were instructed not to store or sell loose edible oil in unhygienic and unsafe containers. They were also told to ensure that containers used to store oil display labels containing the necessary information.

Leaflets and pamphlets were distributed among shoppers to raise awareness about the consumer rights protection law. People were urged to lodge complaints with the National Consumers' Right Protection Directorate if they are cheated when buying a product or service.

The directorate said such monitoring will continue to establish discipline in markets and ensure the supply of safe and hygienic food.