Cumilla:Two businesses in Cumilla have been fined a total of Taka 45,000 for using harmful chemicals to ripen bananas and producing food in unhygienic conditions.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) conducted a drive in the Station Road, Racecourse, and Shashangachha areas of Adarsha Sadar upazila. During this operation, wholesalers were found using a toxic chemical known as Ripen-15 to artificially ripen bananas.
Rongmahal Banana Wholesale Market was fined Taka 30,000 under the Consumer Rights Protection Act, 2009, after being caught using the chemical. The chemically treated bananas were seized and destroyed in public, and the business owner provided a written undertaking not to repeat the practice.
Additionally, Dream Bakers was fined Taka 15,000 for producing bakery products in an unhygienic and unsanitary environment in the Shashangachha area. The operation was led by Md Kawsar Mia, assistant director of the DNCRP's Cumilla District Office, with Upazila Sanitary Inspector Md. Abul Kalam Azad and law enforcement officials also present.