HC seeks DU report on milk products by July 7

The High Court has sought the study report conducted by members of Dhaka University’s Department of Pharmacy that found antibiotics, detergent, coliform, and other  hazardous bacterial organisms in pasteurized milk products.  

The High Court bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir asked the lawyer of Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI), Barrister Sarkar MR Hassan, to collect the DU report findings and submit those before it on July 7.

The court also accepted a BSTI test report on milk products. The BSTI report findings said it has not detected any harmful substances in milk products of 14 brands, including Aarong, Pran and Milk Vita.

Also Read- ‘DU pharmacy department does not own recent milk research’

After the hearing, Barrister Sarkar said BSTI will send a letter to the DU Pharmacy department researchers to get their report. 

On June 25, different newspapers and media outlets published reports of the latest DU study that found antibiotics, detergent and coliform and other hazardous bacterial organisms in the pasteurized milk products of five popular brands sold in the capital.

The study, conducted by a group of teachers of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Pharmacy, also found edible oil, spice powders, fruit juices, and ghee of several popular brands as sub-standard — compared to BSTI standards.

However, on June 28, the DU Pharmacy Department issued a press release, signed by its Chairman Prof Sitesh Chandra Bachar, saying: “The Pharmacy Department is not taking any responsibility for the research that was published in different mass media outlets, as the findings were prepared based on a teacher’s personal research and the department has no involvement with it.”