Underlying regulation for Importing of food for human consumption

Terms & conditions for importiong of food for human consumption

(1) In case of import of milk, milk food, milk products, edible oil and other food items produced in any country, test of radioactivity levels present in those items is mandatory. In this case, a certificate from competent authority recognised by the government of the exporting country is to be submitted to the custom authority with other import documents. 

UNION-FOOD STUFFS

In case of import of milk and milk products, a certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country mentioning that these products are free form Added Melamine, the cows from which the milk originates have not been given Estrogenic Hormones and Hormone growth promotants (HGPs) treatment and the existence of the level of heavy metal are in accordance with Codex Standards, must be submitted to the customs authority by the importer. It is to be noted that test of radioactivity levels of vegetables and seeds, which may be used as food directly is also mandatory.

union-dairy product 

(2) In case of import of food items from any country, the shipping documents must be accompanied by radioactivity-test reports from the concerned authority of the exporting country indicating the level of CS 137 found in such radioactivity-test in each kilogram of food items shipped. In addition, a certificate to the effect that the items are fit for human consumption shall also be required: 

Provided that, in such case, collection of representative samples of such food item from on board ship at the port of loading and despatch thereof shall not be necessary.

UNION-DAIRY 000002

(3) The following procedure shall be applicable in the matters of radioactivity-test of food items to be imported from any country, as: ---

(a) Prior to shipment of the aforesaid item(s) the inspection agent of the supplier or buyer/consignee shall make necessary arrangement for the test of radioactivity levels for such items;

(b) Prior to the arrival of a ship carrying such items at a Bangladeshi port, the buyer or consignee or his inspection agent shall make necessary arrangement for sending by courier the certificate regarding radio activity test to the concerned Customs Authority;

(c) No goods, the radioactivity level of which is above the acceptable limit shall be shipped;

(d) In case of import of food items, which were, produced neither in any European country nor packed/ tinned in or shipped from the third country submission of the aforesaid certificate about radioactivity-test to the Customs Authority by courier service shall not be required:

Provided that, a report on radioactivity-test of importable food items mentioning the level of CS 137 found per kilogram of the importable item concerned is to be submitted; and (e) a general certificate to the effect that the items are fit for human consumption must be enclosed with the Bill of Lading(B.L.).

(4) Only after satisfactory fulfillment of the conditions laid down in sub-para (2) and clauses of sub-para (3) above the Customs and the Port Authority shall allow the unloading of the concerned goods from the ship to the jetty.

(5) On arrival of a ship carrying the aforesaid items at a Bangladesh Port 

(a) the Customs Authority shall collect the required number of samples of the items carried by the ship in presence of the importer’s representative and the port authority (samples are to be collected from the port area) or the master of the ship (in case special appeasement is to be made while the ship is still at the outer anchorage or mooring) and shall properly pack the samples and attach to it a tag made of hardboard as per proforma given by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission;

(b) The tag so attached shall bear the signatures of all those who were involved in the collection of the sample i.e. the representative of the customs authority, the importer’s representative and the representative of port authority and the master of the ship;

(c) After packing and tagging the samples as mentioned above, the Customs Officer concerned shall send it to the customs samples room;

(d) The Customs officer in charge of the sample room shall keep proper record of the samples and hand over the same to the Officer/ Staff of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission against appropriate record and signature;

(e) After receipt of the samples in the Laboratory, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission shall within twenty-four hours, send to the Customs Sample Room their report on the result of examination of the samples:

Provided that, in case of collection of samples after office hours the customs officer concerned shall keep the same in his own custody and hand it over to the samples room the next day immediately after the opening of office;

(f) The representative of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission shall on receipt of information, collect such sample from the Sample Room on the same morning and shall make arrangement for sending reports to the Sample Room after proper examination of the samples;

(g) The representative of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission shall collect samples from the sample room twice a day i.e. once in the morning and again in the afternoon.

(6) If on test of sample(s) of the consignment by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, it is found that the consignment contains radioactivity level above the acceptable limit, the consignment shall not be released and the concerned exporter/supplier shall be bound to take it back at his own expense.

(7) The testing procedures described at sub-paragraph (3), (4) and (5) above shall also be applicable in case of import of milk, milk food, milk products, fish product, edible oil and other food items, even when these have been produced in one country and packed/ tinned in or shipped from another country.

(8) The condition laid down in sub-paragraph (3), (4), (5) and (6) shall be mentioned in the concerned Letters of Credit/ Purchase Orders.

(9) The Customs Authority shall, in the usual course, release the goods, only after getting the Clearance Certificate(s) from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission certifying that the radioactivity level found in the imported food-stuff is within the acceptable limit.

(10) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub paragraph in (1) and (9), Radioactivity-test for palm oil, palmolein and RBD palm stearine produced in Malaysia or Indonesia and imported or to be imported from Malaysia, Indonesia & Singapore shall not be required:

Provided that, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) shall collect samples, for radioactivity-test of these item(s) from the market from time to time and this policy shall be liable to change if, on test of such sample(s) by the BAEC it is found at any stage that the items contain harmful levels of radioactivity.

(11) Test for determination of purity of the imported RBD palm stearine, by the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI)/Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) is obligatory. For this purpose, the Customs Authority shall collect the required number of samples of the items carried by a ship in presence of the nominated officer(s) of the Port Authority and the importer or his representative. The Customs Authority shall seal the sample in their presence and send the same to the authorized officer of the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution/Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dhaka or Chittagong for conducting necessary test. The authorized officer of the BCSIR shall duly test the samples of such items promptly and furnish expert report as to whether those samples of palm oil, palm olein or RBD palm stearine are in conformity with the description of the items given in the import documents. BSTI/BCSIR will then send such report to the concerned Customs Authority.

(12) The concerned importer(s) shall bear all expenses incurred for the radio activity test of the above food items imported or to be imported. The importers shall also bear the expenses relating to the test conducted by the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution/Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, of such RBD palm stearine.

(13) Radioactivity-test shall not be necessary in case of import of cigarette, cigarette paper, pipe tobacco, whiskey, beer & other alcoholic beverages, concentrated essence, spices and medicine.

(14) These procedures shall not apply to the food items imported or to be imported, for which separate procedure has been prescribed by the Ministry of Food for testing radioactivity level. In these cases, the procedure prescribed by Ministry of Food shall be followed.

(15) Acceptable limits of radioactivity for milk powder, milk food and milk products is 95 bq of CS-137 per kilogram and that for other food items is 50bq of CS-137 per kilogram. The level of CS-137 in an item shall be calculated in the state it reaches the port without being liquefied, concentrated or processed. In case of local items, the level of CS-137 in an item shall be calculated in the state it is marketed. The highest acceptable limit of radioactivity levels may be revised by the government from time to time.

(16) In case of direct import of rice, wheat, other cereals and food stuff from SAARC,South-East Asia and Asia-Pacific Ocean countries, the provision of the above mentioned radioactivity-test shall be relaxable on fulfillment of the conditions mentioned below, as:-

(a) Imported rice, wheat, other food cereals and food stuff must be produced in SAARC or South-East Asian Countries and a certificate of origin, issued by the related Government/ approved Agency of the exporting country, shall be submitted, along with import documents to the Customs Authority;

(b) A certificate, issued by the Government/ Approved Agency of the exporting country, declaring that the standard & quality of the imported rice, wheat, other cereals and foodstuff are fit for human consumption and free from all harmful germs, shall be submitted to the Customs Authority;

(c) In case of import of easily perishable foodstuff such as, fresh fruits, fishes, vegetables etc. from SAARC countries, a certificate regarding radioactivity issued by the Government or Agency of the exporting country shall be submitted; and (d) Import of frozen meat and sea food as perishable food items may be stored temporarily under the importer’s custody against bank guarantee determined by the customs authority.

(17) Milk food: All kinds of milk food products including baby food with fat contents covered under H.S. Heading 04.02 or 19.01 and all H.S. Code classifiable there under shall be importable subject to the following conditions, as;---

(a) Baby food produced from milk shall be imported in tin containers, airtight packages or Bag in Box up to 2.5 kgs;

(b) Milk food with cream shall be imported in the loose covered tin containers or bag in box up to 2.5 kgs;

(c) The Industrial enterprises, which are approved by the packing or caning* Sector of Board of Investment, Bangladesh Small & Cottage Industries Corporation or Director, Institute of Public Health & Nutrition , shall import milk food with cream or baby food in big airtight Hermitic Container for packing locally ( retail) ;

(d) The words: “ মায়ের দুধের বিকল্প নাই “ (There is no alternative to breastfeeding) shall be printed clearly in relatively larger letters in Bangla in a visible space on each tin ,airtight package or bag in box of baby food with cream;

(e) Composition and percentages of various ingredients shall be printed in Bangla on the tin containers, airtight packages or bag in boxes of milk food;

(f) The date of manufacture and the date of expiry (for human consumption) of milk food shall be embossed or computer printed in permanent ink either in Bangla or in English on each airtight package with tin container, or bag in box;

(g) The net weight of milk food shall be clearly indicated on each container in Bangla or in English; apart from this, in case of import of milk and milk product baby food, the registration number given by the Director, Institute of Public Health & Nutrition (IPHN) shall be printed on each tin/ airtight package with tin container/ bag in box clearly;

(h) The condition mentioned at clauses (d), (e), (f) and (g) above must be embossed on each airtight package with tin container or bag in box and separate printed labels shall, in no way, be pasted on airtight package with tin container or bag in box;

(i) Measuring spoon shall be supplied airtight package with tin container or bag in box of baby food i.e. milk food having fat contents up to 19%;

(18) Import of non-fat powdered milk shall be made subject to the following conditions, as ---

(a) In bag or sealed tin container 

(b) The importer shall produce an analysis certificate duly authenticated by the competent authority of the exporting country and the certificate shall contain a declaration to the effect that the milk food is fit for human consumption;

(c) The date of manufacture and date of expiry of fitness of the contents for human consumption shall be printed on each container, tin or bag;

(d) In case of import of milk food products and powder milk, pre-shipment inspection shall be mandatory for determination of radioactivity level and the goods may be shipped only if in such test the radioactivity level is found within the acceptable limits approved by the Government. Such test report shall be sent to all concerned authorities as one of the shipping documents;

(e) On arrival of milk food and dried milk in the country, the consignment shall be subject to radioactivity test for the second time before release of the goods and the goods shall be released only if the radioactivity level is found within the acceptable as well as approved limits. The existing procedure of testing the radioactivity level of imported milk food and dried milk on arrival in the country shall continue as usual.

(19) For import of all kinds of food and beverages, the date of manufacture and the date of expiry shall clearly be embossed on each tin , container or package and printed label shall not be pasted on the tin, container or package separately :

Provided that, no food items will be allowed to import after the expiry date.

(20) In case of import of wine/liquor, date of expiry need not to be mentioned.

(21) The quantity and description of preservative, additive and colour used in preserved food must be mentioned and no separate label shall be pasted on it. In this case, embossing is a must .

(22) Date of manufacture and date of expiry shall have to be written/printed on the container/package of those raw materials used in preparation of food and beverages which are to be unusable after certain period of time.

(23) For import of all food products, (directly consumed/drunk or consumed/drunk after processing) the importer shall require to submit along with other shipping documents a cautionary certificate from the government of the exporting country or from appropriate approved agency to the effect that the item is “fit for human consumption”, “that it does not contain harmful ingredients”, or that “it is free from all kinds of harmful germs.” Such a certificate shall mention the age group for which the item is eligible for consumption.

(24) In case of all foodstuff/edible substances importable to Bangladesh, the importers shall send information of the edible substances mentioned in sub para 25(29) in a prescribed form of BSTI to the Bangladesh Standard & Testing Institution (BSTI) and information of other food stuff to Bangladesh Centre for Science and Industrial Research .

(25) All foodstuff/edible substances imported into Bangladesh must undergo mandatory tests of BSTI and BCSIR. On arrival of the consignment inBangladesh the importers shall submit samples of the items to the BSTI/BCSIR for testing and obtain clearance certificate from them. If food staff/edible substance does not conform to their standard, the consignment will not be eligible for release and the importer will be subject to legal action. 

(26) In case of import of food items below the standard set by BSTI shall be returned to the exporting country/any third country at importer’s own cost. Such conditions should be added to L/C for imports of food items.

(27) In case of import of food items as relief goods by the Government shall be released subject to be found suitable for human consumption at the lab test conducted by the Ministry Food. In this case provisions of para 16(3) (e) of this Order shall be relaxed.

(28) In case of import of food items for human consumption as GMO (Genetically Modified Organism), LMO(Living Modified Organism) Bangladesh Bio-safety Guidelines should be followed.