& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Toxic Milk Powder

Confusion over test results

Govt advises people to avoid brands in question until matter settled

Staff Correspondent
The government yesterday advised people to refrain temporarily from consuming the brands of powdered milk which the chemistry department of Dhaka University found tainted with melamine.
A meeting of an inter-agency taskforce, formed on October 6, at the commerce ministry yesterday decided to test a few samples of the powdered milks at the BCSIR and the Atomic Energy Commission
labs. The commerce ministry would receive the results through the BST1, said a government handout.
The authorities concerned were also ordered to take legal actions against organisations marketing powdered milk without registration. They were also asked to inform the convener of the taskforce of such matters.
Commerce ministry called for a meeting today to discuss the
SEE PAGE 15 COL 6 FROM PAGE 1 confusion over different results received from three labs on the presence of melamine in powdered milk available in the market.
The department of chemistry of Dhaka University found traces of melamine in eight popular brands of milk powder. Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) said that the BSTI and Plasma Plus lab found the toxic melamine only in one brand of milk, Yashili 1.
"We did not talk to the department of chemistry of Dhaka University about the testing procedures or the reagents used. Since there is confusion, we would request the government to send the samples abroad for further testing," Director General of BSTI Azmal Hossain told The Daily Star.
He said the government might concurrently go for further testing, coordinating the scientists of BSTI, Dhaka University and Plasma Plus lab. Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), the country's premier laboratory for testing chemicals, has no reagents for testing the presence of melamine and that is why the samples could not be sent there, he added.
Chemistry department sources, however, said they are confident about their report as they took time and tested the samples several times before submitting it to the BSTI.
When asked about the confusion, Additional Secretary to the ministry of commerce Golam Mostakim said the standards and testing methodology might be different at the laboratories which gave different results. He said there is a possibility of sending the samples abroad for further testing.
The additional secretary also said the inter-agency taskforce urged all authorities concerned yesterday to do their jobs with utmost seriousness and in case of any problem they should immediately inform the committee of the matter.
"Even if they have recommendations in this regard, including amendments to existing laws, they are requested to place it before the committee," he said adding that the activities should go on in a coordinated way.
Meanwhile, parents who feed powdered milk to their children are panicked and quite helpless.
Even though the melamine scandal broke out nearly a month ago, people are still in the dark as to which brands they should tnist.
Melamine deposits in the kidneys, hinders their functioning and gradually damages them. Recently four babies died in China after having formulas tainted with melamine and more than 54,000 children there became sick.