Bogura biscuit factory fined Tk 50,000 over industrial salt and cockroaches in Sherpur raid
A factory named Baikali Bread and Biscuit Factory in Sherpur, Bogura, has been fined Tk 50,000 on allegations of making biscuits and cakes in an unhygienic environment.
The fine was imposed on Tuesday (3 November) during a raid by the National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate in the Sherua Battala (Dharmokam) area of the upazila.
According to the directorate, the raid at the factory ran from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm on Tuesday. It was led by the directorate's Assistant Director Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, accompanied by Upazila Sanitary Inspector Tahmina Akter, while a district police team was in charge of security.
Mehedi Hasan, assistant director of the Consumer Rights Protection Directorate in Bogura, said various irregularities were found during the raid, including biscuits being made on dirty wooden tables in an unhygienic environment.
The raid also found that industrial salt, meant for use in factories, was being used in making food products, and there was an infestation of numerous cockroaches where cakes and biscuits were stored.
The establishment also failed to produce Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) approval documents, the directorate said.
The establishment was then fined Tk 50,000 under the Consumer Rights Protection Act, 2009, and the fine was collected on the spot. The seized industrial salt and five trays of cake were destroyed in public.
Mehedi Hasan added that the establishment has been given seven days to correct all the irregularities, and that the maximum legal action will be taken against it if the irregularities are not corrected within the stipulated time.
