The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution has brought 43 new products under mandatory standards and testing certification as demand for the products are rising among consumers.
The decision was approved at BSTI’s 34th council meeting held on Sunday, said a press release issued by BSTI.
The products include low fat milk, flavoured milk, ice lolly, natural henna, dishwashing liquid, liquid toilet cleaner, nail polish, gold, cotton sarees woven on power looms, car tires and rims, hollow clay bricks and blocks and power transformers.
Industries minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun presided over the meeting.
First vice-president of the council and state minister for industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder, second vice-president and industries secretary KM Ali Azam and member secretary and BSTI director general Md Nazrul Anwar were present at the meeting.
Industries minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun highlighted the huge potential of the export of halal products on the international market and said that BSTI should take the initiative to determine the quality of halal products and issue quality certificates to harness this potential.
The state minister said that an opportunistic quarter who called themselves traders were taking advantage of the coronavirus outbreak and cheating consumers by selling expired and adulterated products, including baby food, medicines and many essential commodities.
He also gave directives to strengthen monitoring, realise fines and conduct additional special drives to check the activities of such fraudsters on the market.
Senior officials of the industries, home affairs, fisheries and livestock, commerce, textiles and jute, information, agriculture, health and family welfare, power, energy and mineral resources and ICT ministries and representatives of the Department of Information, Bangladesh Television, Finance Department, Agricultural Research Council, BCSIR, import and export regulators, Export Promotion Bureau, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Consumers Association of Bangladesh were also present at the meeting.