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Confusion over SC, HC orders on milk test

Govt wants to test only 8 brands

Staff Correspondent
Complications have arisen over interpretation of the rulings delivered by the Supreme Court (SC) and the High Court (HC) about laboratory tests of powdered milk.
Upon receipt of the certified copy of the SC ruling yesterday, the government said it will arrange laboratory tests of only eight brands of powdered milk in question at three laboratories at home and also at a laboratory in Europe through World Health Organization (WHO).
"We received the copy of the Supreme Court ruling today. We have already formed a committee to collect the samples of the eight brands of powdered milk. From the court ruling, we understand that only the eight brands should be tested," Abul Kajam Azad, additional secretary of the heaith ministry, told The Daily Star yesterday.
Advocate Manzil Murshid, the counsel for Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, however said the interpretation that the SC directed the government to test only the eight brands of powdered milk is not correct.
On November 10, the HC had asked the government to send the samples of the eight brands to the laboratories of chemistry department of Dhaka University, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEO and Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and submit the results to the court in 21 days.
It also directed the government to test all brands of powdered milk available on the local market at the three designated laboratories and submit the test results as soon as possible.
"The Supreme Court in its order did not mention 'all the brands' rather it said 'samples of the powdered milk brands’
regarding the test of powdered milk," Manzil Murshid told The Daily Star.
"The apex court upheld the High Court ruling modifying it a bit, saying that the milk brands should also be tested in a European country. It means that all the powdered milk brands available on local market should be tested at a laboratory in a European country," he added.
The SC order came on November 17 after counsels of Red Cow and Nido Fortified filed petitions with the apex court on November 16 seeking a stay on the HC order.
The brands in question are Yashili-1, Yashili-2, Sweet Baby-2, Diploma, Dano, Red Cow, Nido Fortified and Anlcne. The milk brands were earlier tested in the laborato-
ries in Bangladesh and at a laboratory in Bangkok, but the test results were different.
BSTI and private laboratory Plasma Plus found melamine only in Yashili-1, while chemistry department of Dhaka University found the toxic melamine in all the eight brands and BAEC found it in seven brands. The Bangkok laboratory found melamine in Chinese brands Yashili-1, Yashili-2 and Sweet Baby-2.
Abul Kalam Azad said the government has asked BSTI to make arrangements to publish in the media the results of laboratory tests of the eight brands of powdered milk as per the HC directives.
The government would write to the WHO seeking the name of a laboratory in Europe where the milk brands can be tested, he added.