C h ap t e r -3
T o identify the legal problems related the protection of
c o ns u me r rights
3:1. Introduction:
The consumer rights in Bangladesh are protected though the Protection of
Consumer Rights Act, 2009 on trade and commerce mechanisms. There are
various types of problems in our country. It is identified the legal problems related
the protection of consumer rights in this chapter.
3:2. Making and selling false weight or measure
Section-266 of the Penal Code also provides that. “ Whoever is in possession of
any instrument for weighing, or of any weight, or of any measure of length or
capacit y, w h i c h h e k n o w s t o b e false, a n d i nt endi ng t hat t he s a m e m a y b e
fraudulently used, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both” 1 .
T he Wei ghts and Measures Act 1985 controls h o w wei ghing a n d measuring
equipment is used. All this equipment must be tested and stamped for accuracy by
a weights and measures inspector before you use it. The most commo n problem
we find relate to using weights and scales which are either not accurate or not
stamped, or both.
It is ve r y i mp or t a nt w h e n y o u b u y w e i gh t s o r scales t o m a k e s u r e t hat t he
equipment c o me s st amped wit h an inspector's stamp. Y o u shoul d check the
equipment regularly to make sure it is accurate.
Unstamped machines can be stamped and certified by a weights and measures
i nspect or after y o u h a ve b o u gh t t he m, as l on g as t hey ar e t he correct t ype.
Obviously, the machine must pass the examination for accuracy. Some electrical
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the Penal Code
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and digital scales are legitimate, but many are not. If you are in doubt, check with
your supplier or with Trading Standards.
It is an offence to:
Use inaccurate equipment for trade;
Use unstamped equipment for trade; and
Forge, alter or remove our inspector's stamp.
Powers of inspectors
Our officers have wide powers, which include the right to:
Enter your shop;
Inspect and test weighing equipment; and
Seize equipment and documents.
Remember you are guilty of an offence if you deliberately obstruct an officer, fail
to keep to any requirements or, without good reason, fail to give an officer any
other information or help.
3:3 price a n d distribution
To ensure the correct price and distribution of essential commodities in the country
so that importers, producers and businessmen may not earn more profits. Under the
law the prices of commodities should be attached to them and the list of the price
s h o u l d b e h a n g e d i n a n o p e n pl a ce a n d a r ecei pt f or sal e o f g o o d s m u s t b e
delivered to the purchaser.
There is no a fixed price on the every goods in our country that’s why the sellers
are earning more and more money and losing the buyers.
3:4 Selling or using poisonous or dangerous chemicals
There is a prohibition of sale or use of poisonous or dangerous chemicals,
intoxicated food, color etc.
N o person shall directly or indirectly a n d whet her b y himself or b y any other
person acting on his behalf21
(a)
Use any poisonous or dangerous chemicals or ingredients or additives or
substances like calcium carbide, formalin, pesticides ( D D T , P C B s oil etc.), or
intoxicated food colour or flavouring matter in any food which may cause injury to
human body;
(b)
sale any food in which poisonous or dangerous chemicals or ingredients or
additives or substances like calcium carbide, formalin, pesticides (DDT, PCBs oil
etc.) or intoxicated food colour or flavouring matter has been used in any food
which may cause injury to human body.] 2
The High Court ordered on 28 th February 2012 the police to file criminal cases
against culprits for using toxic chemical to ripen and preserve fruits and sell them
under the Special Power Act.
The maximum punishment for such offence is "death penalty".
T he order comes following a writ petition filed by lawyer Manzill Mur shi d as
public interest litigation on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh on
May 10, 2010 seeking court directives on the government to take steps to stop the
use of chemicals in fruits as well as their sale.
Formalin applied on fish, fruit, meat, and milk causes throat cancer, blood cancer,
childhood asthma, and skin diseases, while colouring agent Calcium Carbide may
lead to cancer in kidney, liver, skin, prostate, and lungs.
2 section-6A the Pure Food Ordinance, 1959
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T he court in its earlier ruling in 2010 asked the government to explain w h y it
shoul d not be directed to take effective me asu r es t o protect public health b y
stopping the use of chemicals in fruits, especially apples, mangoes, grapes, bananas
and papayas.
T he court ha d also asked the commer ce, f ood an d h o m e secretaries to f or m a
committee to make recommendations to the government to stop the use of
c h e mi c a l s i n fruits a n d s u b mi t a r eport t o t he cour t w i t h i n 1 5 d a ys. B u t t he
respondents did not make any reply to the ruling and order. Between these days,
law enforcers and officials of authorities concerned including Bangladesh
Standards and Testing Institute, market monitoring cell of the commerce ministry
used to conduct drives against the perpetrators.
They also destroyed huge amount of adulterated fruits across the country. But since
the extent of crime did not go down, the court comes with its fresh directives.
The lawyer said unscrupulous traders use chemicals such as carbide to ripen fruits,
and also formalin to elongate their shelf life.
The High Court also asked the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Customs
Depar t ment t o monitor l and an d sea ports an d test i mport ed fruits t o find out
whether they are free from chemicals. 3
The HC said the use of chemicals to ripen and preserve fruits is illegal, and ordered
the BSTI and law enforcers to constantly monitor fruit depots across the country to
prevent storage or sale of contaminated fruits.
3
Demotix may change the way news is reported
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Arsenic phosphorous and the carbide produce acetylene gas
The chemical, it turns out, is Calcium Carbide, and is extremely hazardous to the
human body because it contains traces of arsenic and phosphorous. Once dissolved
in water, the carbide produces acetylene gas. Acetylene gas is an analogue of the
natural ripening agents produced by fruits known as ethylene. Acetylene imitates
the ethylene and quickens the ripening process. In some cases it is only the skin
that changes colour, while the fruit itself remains green and raw. When the carbide
is used on very raw fruit, the amount of the chemical needed to ripen the fruit has
to be increased. This results in the fruit becoming even more tasteless, and possibly
toxic.
We don’t know what the name of the chemical is but it works like magic,’ he says.
‘Just go to one of the pharmacies in the Dhaka Medical College area and ask for
medicine to ripe bananas,’ he adds. Visits to the neighboring warehouses reveal
that scores of banana wholesalers are using this s a me technique to transfor m
cheaply bought unripe banana into a golden cargo, going on to supply it to Dhaka’s
ever-growing appetite for sweeter, riper and bigger. Later in the morning, we visit
one of the pharmacies in the DMCH area. They won’t say what the chemical is but
sure enough, it is cheap and widely available. T h e chemical, it turns out, is
Calcium Carbide, and is extremely hazardous to the human body because it
contains traces of arsenic and phosphorous.
F i sh in ki t chen ma r ke t s a r e st or ed i n f or ma l d e h yd e ( u s e d t o pr eser ve d e a d bodies)
The chemical fertilizer urea is used in our rice to make it whiter, fish in kitchen
markets are stored in formaldehyde (used to preserve dead-bodies) to keep them
fresh-looking, colours and sweeteners are injected into fruits, and Recent studies
by the Food and Nutrition Institute, University of Dhaka, have also found
Escherichia coli (E-coli), Salmonella, and Shigella bacteria in restaurant food and
street food in the city.
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Eating contaminated food m a y cause diarrhoea, dysentery an d other diseases.
‘Finding bacteria is very common in the restaurant foods. B ut the more alarming
thing is that the restaurant owners do not throw out the leftover oil from everyday
cooking, using the same oil the next day. As a result the peroxide value of the oil
increases and it becomes toxic ultimately
(CAB) — Bangladesh’s only consumer rights group — confirms that wholesalers
do indeed use urea fertilizer in rice to make it whiter. Consumers wh o eat husk
paddle processed rice (red rice) will also find themselves cheated, as artificially
colored rice is also available in the market, say members of the watchdog. This is
common knowledge, they say. ‘While the rice is being processed, they use urea
fertilizer in the rice to make it look more attractive, thus increasing its sale value,’
said Miftaur Rahman, a local rice dealer in Kawran Bazar, who claims his products
are clean.
Most of the red chilli powder used in the market is adulterated - in most cases the
spices are mixed with brick dust. Fine sawdust is also often mixed with cumin and
other ground spices, say C A B members. Honey is also frequently adulterated, as
lab tests have found sugar syrup is often mixed with honey to enhance the
sweetness. Nowadays, pure butter oil and ghee are also very rare in the market.
Dishonest traders use a host of ingredients such as animal fat, pal m oil, potato
mash, and vegetable oil to produce fake butter oil. They even mix soap ingredients
like steirian oil with ghee, to increase the proportions.
Rasogolla, kalojaam, and chamcham are the essential delicacies for all festivals in
Bengali culture. But food and sanitation officers from the Dhaka City Corporation
(DCC) say most of these mouthwatering sweetmeats, despite looking attractive in
the shop displays, are made with adulterated ingredients and produced in a filthy
environment. In a survey conducted by D C C officials found that 100 percent of
examined samples of Rasogolla, kalojaam, curds, and sandesh were adulterated.
Bangladesh’s Pure Food Ordinance (1959) states that at least 10 per cent milk fat is
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mandatory in sweetmeat. But in most cases, the percentage of milk fat is not more
than five per cent.
Condensed mi l k
Three years after it first emerged that condensed milk produced by Bangladeshi
manufacturers contained little or no milk and was in fact condensed vegetable fat,
the companies are continuing to supply their spurious product to the market on the
strength of a Hi gh Court stay order on legal action against them. ‘Br ands like
Starship, Danish, Goalini and K walit y are mostly producing conden sed milk,
which do not satisfy the ‘ BDS 896: 1979’ code of the Bangladesh Standard and
Testing Institute (BSTI),’ said Shamsuzzoha, Information officer of Consumers’
Association of Bangladesh - Bangladesh’s only consumer rights group.
From the test conducted by the Public Health Institute, it was found that these two
brands have a bacterial count level of 76,000 and 25,000, respectively,’ he said.
The maximum count of bacteria in a gram of condensed milk is 10,000. ‘Despite
the numerous test results, these brands continue to sell their adulterated products
taking advantage of the fact that authorities tend to avoid their responsibilities at
investigating such products and taking measures in ensuring consumer rights,’ he
says. He explains that the ‘BDS 896:1979’ quality insists the need of actual cattle
milk be condensed, mixed with sugar, then packaged and sold as condensed milk.
According to the criteria, condensed milk should have a composition of 28 per cent
solid milk, 8 per cent fat, 40 per cent sugar, 0.3 per cent lactic acid and count level
below 10,000 bacteria in every gram of the milk.
The Milk and Dairy Product section committee of BSTI finalized the BDS
standar d for c on dens ed mi l k o n M a y 22, 1 97 9. T h e quality w a s d esi gned i n
accordance with the condensed milk manufacturing procedure discovered first by
scientist Gail Borden in 1896. The committee had also kept in mind the necessity
of the International Standards Organization (ISO) standards while formulating this
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particular standard. This standard was later approved by the Agriculture and Food
Products Divisional Council of BSTI.
‘These condensed milk lack the basic nourishing factors that natural milk has,’ said
Zoha. He explained that natural milk consists of 80 to 90 per cent water. The rest
includes protein, saturated fat, vitamin and calcium.
‘The most important element is lactose, a special type of galactic that aids
digestion in the h u ma n system,’ h e explained. T h e other elements in mil k are
albumin, globulin, potassium, sodium, iodine and sulphur. ‘All these elements
make the consumption of a litter of milk equivalent to the consumption of 21 eggs,
12 kilograms of beef and 2.2 kilograms of bread by a human,’ he said. ‘As most of
these brands are using vegetable fat and powdered mi l k to produce condensed
milk, consumers are missing out from the consumption of ‘real’ condensed milk,’
he said. In a report published by CAB in December, 1995 it was found that Danish
Condensed milk (Bangladesh) imports 125 metric tons of powdered milk. When
tested by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy commission it was found that the
radioactivity levels in their milk is much higher than the stipulated limit.
The high court verdict was against the sale and production of this powdered milk.
‘We still cannot tell whether the company abided by the high court verdict,’ says
one CAB official. Along with powdered milk, the brands are using Hoyer powder,
water, sugar, artificial colour, flavour and vegetable fat to produce condensed milk.
Currently, 7, 68,000 cans of condensed milk are sold daily. ‘The daily demand
shows the massive consumption of condensed milk and thus the immense health
hazard being faced by the nation,’ says one CAB official. 4
4
Sos-arsenic.net
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3:5. Adulteration of food
Adulteration of food is an act of dishonest tradesmen who intend to make
maximum profit from minimum investment. Random manufacture of adulterated
food unsuitable for human consumption led to a resolve to combat this trend in
order to maintain a standard of purity for the preservation of public health. The
legal philosophy for protection of the consumers from intake of adulterated food
articles resulted in the inclusion of some provisions in the Penal Code, 1860 (Act
No. X LV of 1860) making adulteration of food or drink and sale of noxious food
or drink punishable under sections 272, 273,274,275 and 276 of the said Code.
The provisions of the penal Code could not, however, effectively control the trend
of manufacture and sale of adulterated foodstuff. In subsequent years, widespread
evil of food adulteration began to threaten public health. With a view to protecting
consumers from the menacing effect of adulterated food articles, Pure Food
Ordinance, 1959 (Ordinance No. LXVIII of 1959) was promulgated in 1959. Law
Commission in 2006 submitted a report along with draft bill recommending
enhancement of punishment prescribed in sections 272, 273,274,275 and 276 of
the Penal Code, 1860. The said recommendation is reiterated hereby.
Adulteration of food articles is an offence under the Pure Food Ordinance,
1959 providing minor penalties of different kinds. Taking advantage of such minor
penalties the unscrupulous traders started mixing injurious materials with almost
every food articles like fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, flour etc. which necessitated
an amendment of the Pure Food Ordinance, 1959 in 2005 by the Bangladesh Pure
Food (Amendment) Act, 2005 widening definition of adulteration and the scope of
the law and also enhancing the punishment of the offences.
Alarming increase of adulteration of foodstuffs created a strong public opinion for
combating the ferocity of the offence. There has been a wide circulation of views
for controlling different kinds of adulteration of foodstuffs. Mobile courts are now
vigilant around the capital and the districts to discover different kinds of food
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houses, hotels and restaurants which are found to be selling noxious foodstuffs.
Electronic media has been giving a wide coverage of various forms of adulteration
of foodstuffs consumed by the people at large. Conscious stakeholders have also
come forward to express their thoughtful research on the effects of different kinds
of adulterated food on human body. Some stakeholders also maintained contact
with the L a w Commi ssi on for maki n g necessary reforms o n the laws in force
relating to adulteration. Concerned quarters also invited the attention of the
Commission for bringing reforms in the Ordinance. Consequently, the Law
Commission included Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 1959 (Ordinance No.
LXVIII of 1959) in its two-year work plan of 2006-2007 for bringing necessary
reforms in the same.
Recently mixture of sodium cyclamate with different articles of food, such as
sugar, biscuits and eatables m ade of sugar has become a cause of common
concern. Sodium cyclamate is a poisonous chemical substance which causes
serious injury to human body particularly to the children. Intake of sodium
cyclamate may result in the outcome of serious diseases like cancer and ulceration
in different parts of human body 5 .
Sodi um cyclamate has been banned in the developed countries for its harmful
effect on human body. So, import of sodium cyclamate should be banned in our
country also, because its mixture with food items is very much injurious to public
health. Section 6A, of the Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 1959 prohibited the
use of different chemical elements in the foodstuffs which cause injury to human
body; but despite having harmful effect, sodium cyclamate has not been included
therein. In the absence of sodium cyclamate in section 6A, the Mobile Court finds
it difficult to punish the traders w h o are using sodi um cyclamate in their food
products. As such, inclusion of sodium cyclamate is necessary in section 6 A and
section 44 of the said Ordinance, by way of a further amendment. We, therefore,
r ecommend the inclusions of sodium cyclamate after the word “formalin” in
section 6A and in the Table of section 44.
5
Report/ Pure Food Act/doc
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W H I C H F O O D IT E MS A R E SA ID T O B E
A D U L T E R AT E D ?
1. Prepared or stored in an unhygienic environment.
2. Prepared with animal’s diseased meat or vegetables laced with chemicals
(ripening agent, pesticides).
3. Prepared by mixing with some intoxicated or injurious ingredients such as brick
powder, melamine etc.
4. Prepared by mixing with some banned pigment.
5. Prepared by using excessive dye or color. The consumer society has to foil the
deceptive behaviour ofunethical businesses. If the consumer remains vigilant, the
consumer will be assured of quality and safe product. Remember: “Awareness is
the key weapon of a consumer”.
3:6 various offences against the consu me r rights
T he offences under the C on su mer Rights Protection A ct 2009 are liable to be
meted out in different forms of punishment.
The law has provided provisions for imprisonment or imposition of fine or both.
Depending on the gravity of the offence, the financial penalty ranges from 50, 000
taka to 2 lakhs taka and the i mpri sonment r anges f r o m 1 year to 3 years. T h e
specific offences and their punishments are shown in Annexure I.
Points to be noted:
• If there is reasonable cause to believe as such that a seller has done something
unlawful unknowingly or with bonafide intent, he should not be made liable under
this law.
• T he owner of a shop is not to be held liable if he has no connection with the
marketing or production of any adulterated or defective goods.
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• No hawker or ferriwala would be responsible for selling any fake or adulterated
or defective items unless it is shown that he has done so in order to achieve an
unlawful gain.
3:7 Conclusions
Consumer Protection L a w in the Bangladesh should be the national special law
which specifically protects the interests and safety of end-user using the products
or services provided by business operators. Everybody may use or buy any goods
peacefully. Our Government should take an action for the consumer rights.
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