Dhaka: The High Court on Monday ordered the government to form a probe committee and submit a report within a month after testing pasteurized milk available in the market.

The High Court bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Md. Iqbal Kabir passed the order following a writ petition.

The court asked to include representatives of Health Ministry, Food Ministry, Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI) and experts in the probe committee.

The HC also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why the failure to ensure safety of pasteurized milk would not declared illegal.

Health Secretary, Food Secretary, director general of Directorate of Health, executive director of BSTI, icddr,b and inspector general of police have been made respondents to the rule.

The court also fixed June 27 for the next hearing.

Supreme Court Lawyer Tanvir Ahmed filed the writ incorporating the report published in various newspapers on May 17.

A new study of icddr,b revealed that more than 75 percent of all pasteurized milk available in the local market is unsafe for direct consumption.

However, this can only be dangerous if consumed ‘raw’ (unboiled), which is often practiced in Bangladesh, said the icddr,b revealing disturbing findings regarding commercially pasteurised milk which is the primary source of nutrition for children.

With the aim to assess the microbiological quality of milk at different stages of the dairy value chain, 438 raw milk samples were collected from milk producers, collectors, chilling plants, local restaurants in the northern part of Bangladesh.