The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has mandated the use of its standardisation mark for 36 additional products, including LPG cylinders, pressure cookers, microwave ovens, and sweetmeats, aiming to ensure product quality and consumer rights. The move has caused concern among small-scale operators, particularly sweetmeat makers, who anticipate business impediments.
The list of regulated items encompasses beauty products, bitumen, cookstoves, industrial safety helmets, and more. Manufacturers must incorporate the BSTI mark on labels or product bodies, with non-compliance risking a Tk 2 lakh fine or a four-year jail term. The BSTI has set standards for 4,200 products, and the mark is now obligatory for 274 items. The circulars, effective in two months, also ban the sale of products not meeting BSTI standards. Stakeholders express concerns and call for transparent and efficient formalization processes to aid businesses.