A mobile court has fined Barcode Sweets & Confectionery Tk1,50,000 after finding a dirty and unhygienic kitchen at its facility in Chattogram.
The drive, led by Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Masuma Akter Kona on Sunday (1 March), was conducted at the company’s kitchen and food factory in Muradpur. District Food Safety Officer Mohammad Farhan Islam was present during the drive.
Officials said the kitchen was damp and unclean, with food stored in defective refrigerators containing cockroaches and insects. Workers were also found not following basic hygiene rules.
In the same operation, another outlet named “Mithai” in Panchlaish was fined Tk60,000 for packaging and selling dates in an unhygienic environment and for irregularities including incomplete labelling.
Food Safety Officer Farhan Islam said the refrigerators contained rotten fish and meat stains and that no purchase or sales receipts were found. “As a reputed restaurant, they have the capacity to follow the guidelines. But due to negligence, they failed to maintain proper hygiene,” he said.
This is not the first penalty against Barcode. In August 2023, the company was fined Tk4 lakh after a mobile court found rotten meat, unapproved cooking ingredients and unsanitary conditions at one of its kitchens.
Barcode chairman Manjurul Haque released a video on social media where he denied that the raided facility was used for restaurant food, claiming it was a staff kitchen. However, Food Safety Officer Farhan said the action was taken based on the company’s trade licence information and that the owner accepted the penalty by signing the official form.
“If he had objections, he could have refused to sign. In that case, legal action would have followed. Instead, he admitted the offence, requested leniency and sought additional time to correct the issues,” said the official.
Barcode Group operates 20 restaurants – 15 in Chattogram, five in Dhaka and one in the United Arab Emirates.
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