The Safe Food Court of Dhaka on Sunday ordered Nestlé Bangladesh to recall an entire batch of KitKat chocolate-coated wafers from the market by 21 January following a Safe Food Inspector’s plea.
The production batch number is 44399139, and the production code is 6294003539054, confirmed Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Safe Food Inspector Kamrul Hasan
In October, he filed a case based on laboratory test results showing that samples collected from a Dhaka outlet in January failed quality parameters.
Hasan’s filings indicated that Nestlé imported the KitKat wafers from Dubai and placed them on the Bangladesh market without obtaining the “mandatory BSTI certification.”
According to his filings, a DSCC team collected samples from retail chain Shwapno’s Basabo outlet on 10 January 2025 and sent them to the Public Health Food Testing Laboratory.
The results showed that the KitKat contained 9.31 per cent milk solids, against the required 12-14 per cent, and 1.23 per cent milk fat, against the standard 2.5-3.5 per cent.
The wafer portion showed 2.32 per cent acidity, exceeding the BSTI maximum limit of 1 per cent, while the permanent soluble acid value was also below standard.
The food inspector told TIMES of Bangladesh last month that such low milk solids and milk fat indicate insufficient dairy content in a product marketed as chocolate.
Nestlé disputed the allegations, claiming that no BSTI standard exists for products like the KitKat and that the tests were conducted in a non-accredited laboratory.
The company further said that customs cleared the consignment based on a Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) clearance report, although the inspector said that BCSIR does not issue marketing clearance.
Subsequent inspections by Kamrul Hasan’s team at multiple outlets found inconsistent packaging, with some packets carrying BSTI logos while others were missing them, raising questions.
On 26 November, the Safe Food Court issued an arrest warrant against Nestlé Bangladesh Managing Director Dipal Abe Bikrama and Public Policy Manager Riasad Zaman.
They, however, secured bail from the High Court, the company confirmed.
The products were supplied to the retail outlet by Sumaiya Enterprise, and its owner, Mozammel Hossain, was sent to jail for non-cooperation with the food inspector despite repeated requests for documents.
He was granted bail on 10 December after voluntarily admitting guilt before the court.
From Nestlé Bangladesh, Dipal Abe Bikrama and Riasad Zaman appeared before the court on Sunday.
“We had sought intervention of the High Court in the matter and are pleased to inform that the matter was admitted for bail in light of the prima facie case made based on our submissions,” Nestlé Bangladesh said in its statement on Sunday.
“We are glad that The City Food Court has also confirmed the bail and the arrest warrant has been cancelled,”
The company said that it had yet to receive a certified copy of the order for any specific conditions relating to invoicing for the specific batch of products.
Expressing its faith in the judiciary, the company further said, “We are confident of the sanctity and quality of all its products, including official imports. We have favourable test reports from BCSIR for this product.”
