Bangladesh Labeling Requirements for Packaged Food 2013
Report Highlights:
Bangladeshi regulations stipulate that all imported food products must be labeled to indicate the country of origin, quantity or weight, ingredients, and dates of manufacture and expiration. Labeling may be in English or Bangla (Bengali) language. Specific provisions of the Bangladesh Import Policy Orders are summarized in this report.
Introduction
Bangladeshi regulations stipulate that all imported food products must be labeled to indicate the country of origin, quantity or weight, ingredients, and dates of manufacture and expiration. Labeling may be in English or Bangla (Bengali) language. Imports of baby food and foods containing milk must be in "tin containers" (cans), and nonfat dried milk must be in bags or tins (cans). The product’s composition, the percentage of various ingredients, and the statement “There is no alternative to breastfeeding” must be printed in Bangla on each container of baby food that contains cream. For all food and beverage products (except for wine and liquor), including those that are imported, the dates of manufacture and expiration must be clearly printed. All such printing must be on the containers; separately printed labels pasted on the containers are not acceptable.
Bangladeshi Labeling Requirements for Packaged Food
There is no separate law regulating the labeling requirements for food and agricultural commodities in Bangladesh. The labeling of domestically produced and packaged condensed milk and dried milk powder are prescribed in Bangladesh’s Pure Food Rules (1967) promulgated by the Department of Health. The government was granted the power to implement these rules via the Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance of 1959. Although these rules detail the provisions on food poisoning, food coloring, preservatives in food, etc., there is no mention of the labeling requirements for packaged food items, except for condensed milk and dried milk powder.
The ordinance was amended in 2005 and renamed as The Bangladesh Pure Food (Amendment) Act 2005. While the amendments did include revisions of some definitions and financial penalty enhancements for offenses, there was no mention of labeling. Currently, the main legal instrument that regulates the labeling requirements of imported food products is the Import Policy Order 2009-12. In light of requirements in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures, the Product Labeling Policy was introduced in 2006 to ensure that no barriers are created for the importation and exportation of goods, and to ensure that imported products have proper labels. The policy refers explicitly to international labeling standards to be observed in 15 sectors.
