Reports of tests at BCSIR, ICDDRB and Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute labs were filed. However, the report of National Food Safety Laboratory is yet to be submitted.
BSTI’s lawyer submitted the reports. The bench of Justice Syed Refat Ahmed and Justice Iqbal Kabir asked the lawyers to keep the subject matter of the reports within themselves.
Barrister Sarkar MR Hassan stood on behalf of BSTI while lawyer Tanveer Ahmed stood for the writ petitioner.
On July 14, the High Court ordered testing pasteurised milks of BSTI-approved companies at four labs and file reports within a week.
Lawyer Md Tanveer Ahmed filed the writ petition enclosing the clipping of the media report on contamination in milk.
The court on May 21 ordered forming a committee of experts and researchers to test pasteurised milk available in the market and file a report.
On June 25, the BSTI lawyer filed a report and claimed that no harmful material was found in the products of 14 companies. On the same day, Dhaka University Professor ABM Faruque announced finding traces of detergent and antibiotics in samples of pasteurised and unpasteurised milk produced by several companies.
During a hearing on July 14, the BSTI admitted before the court that it lacks the capability to detect antibiotics. Later, the court ordered the BSTI to have the milk samples tested at four labs and file reports.