Editorial
BSTI seals absent on products
The body must be made more effectual
It is surely a matter of concern that many products in the market do not carry the mandatory seal of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution. In fact, there are hundreds of products that are openly being sold in the market, with hardly anyone to check whether these products, minus BSTI approval, can be offered to the public. Intriguingly, the BSTI always seems to be in the news every time there is bad news about what it does not do or how people can skirt around it. That says a good deal about what must now be done to turn the organisation into an effective body if goods sold in the market are to maintain safety standards.
Plainly, what has been happening around the issue of the BSTI seal on products is horrifying. When the requirement is that such a wide range of products as chemical goods and foods must be certified by the BSTI as safe, there is clear evidence to show that product manufacturers and in turn traders are flouting it with impunity. One very important reason why that is happening is that the organisation is clearly handicapped by a shortage of manpower. Only 22 inspectors are there (and 15 of them are in Dhaka alone). That fact is as mind-boggling as it is outrageous. It clearly shows that for all the good intentions behind the working of the body, there is obviously a need to prioritise matters, a job that must begin with an increase in staff. At the same time, it must be ensured that such staff are technically qualified to judge products and possess the confidence and integrity to come down hard on anyone contravening BSTI regulations.
BSTI has to depend on borrowed laboratory facilities to certify products or test suspected hazardous products. There should be a self-contained laboratory facility at the BSTI.
An institution cannot run on half-hearted measures. It is clear the BSTI is in need of a thorough overhaul if it means to make its presence felt. Appointment of qualified staff, especially quality inspectors, and a strict enforcement of regulations can make it move. Tokenism will simply not do where the question is one of a maintenance of public health. The BSTI case reveals the flawed prioritisation patterns that the authorities have been pursuing. In effect, the BSTI has been sidelined as a body. If it is to regain its health, a change in attitude is called for.
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