Bangladeshi parliament passes antibiotics bill

Parliament in Bangladesh has passed a bill prohibiting use of antibiotics, growth hormone, steroid and harmful pesticides in animal and fish feeds.

The bill was passed in the wake of a self-imposed ban by Bangladeshi shrimp exporters to the European Union due to a harmful antibiotic agent.

Shrimp is one of the country’s major export items. The new bill, if turned into law, will guarantee safer standards for fish and animal feeds that will ultimately contribute to people’s health.

According to the bill, the government will set quality standards of animal feed and their which producers and traders must follow.

The bill says all those involved in the production, import, marketing and sale of fish or animal feed will have to take license either from the office of the director general of the department of fisheries or from the director general of the livestock department respectively.

Anyone violating the law or rules framed under this law would stand trial.