Arrest Warrants Issued in KitKat Food Safety Scandal
Authorities in Bangladesh have taken the dramatic step of issuing arrest warrants for senior Nestlé executives after laboratory tests declared imported KitKat chocolate bars to be substandard and a risk to public health. The legal action targets two top officials from the company's Bangladeshi operation.
Failed Tests and Legal Action
Food safety inspectors from the Dhaka South City Corporation collected samples of the world-famous chocolate bars from various retail outlets. Subsequent analysis at a government laboratory revealed alarming results. The wafer biscuit's acidity level was measured at 2.32%, far exceeding the maximum permitted level of 1%.
Furthermore, the chocolate coating was found to be deficient, containing only 9.31% milk solids, which is below the approved range of 12% to 14%. Kamrul Hasan, a safe food inspector, stated, 'High acidity indicates decomposition or simply implies that the food is rotten. None of the tested samples met the required standards. That's why we proceeded with legal action.'
Nestlé's Defence and Corporate Pushback
In response, Nestlé Bangladesh has strongly contested the allegations. The company claims that health inspectors acted without reviewing official documentation or consulting them before seeking the arrest warrants. A spokesperson emphasised that their product is tested by the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), with each consignment being released only after passing these tests.
Debabrata Roy Chowdhury, the company secretary, argued to local media that the standards being applied are inappropriate, stating, 'The standard that they have is for chocolate biscuits. The BSTI has not yet established standards for testing KitKat, so we import it in compliance with the permissible limits under the Safe Food Act.' The company confirmed that KitKats are imported from Dubai and India.
The arrest warrants have been issued for Deepal Abeywickrema, the Managing Director of Nestlé Bangladesh, and Riasad Zaman, the company's public policy manager. It remains unclear whether the two executives have been detained. The case, presided over by special metropolitan magistrate Nusrat Sahara Bithi at a food safety court in Dhaka, highlights the increasing global scrutiny on food quality and corporate accountability.
