Ashwin Foods fined Tk3 lakh for food safety violations in Gazipur

Ashwin Foods Limited has been fined Tk300,000 for multiple violations of the Safe Food Act, 2013, following a joint mobile court conducted at its factory in Kaliganj upazila of Gazipur.

The drive was carried out on 20 July by the Kaliganj Upazila Administration and the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), Gazipur.

The mobile court was led by Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Zakia Sarwar Lima. BFSA Gazipur Food Safety Officer Farzana Yasmin Sonia, the Kaliganj Upazila Food Safety Inspector and members of the police also participated in the operation.

During the inspection, the mobile court found several violations at the factory, including misleading and incomplete food labelling, improper labelling and storage of food additives, and the company's failure to provide scientific evidence, including shelf-life studies or laboratory test reports, to support its declared 30-day shelf life for bread products.

Inspectors also found that food products were not properly covered during production and that flies were present inside the factory, raising concerns over hygiene and food safety.

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In addition, the company failed to preserve Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and Certificates of Analysis (CoA) for food additives, could not produce records showing that additives were being used within approved limits, and did not properly maintain invoices and purchase records for food products.

Authorities said the violations posed potential risks to public health and constituted clear breaches of the Safe Food Act, 2013.

The mobile court imposed and realised a fine of Tk300,000 under Sections 32(a) and 38 of the Safe Food Act.

Food samples were also collected from the factory for further laboratory analysis, officials said.