What are you buying? Sweets or packets?

Have you ever wondered if you are getting your money's worth while buying sweets? If not, you should. 

Consumers often get cheated while buying sweets. Although the sweet makers and sellers are instructed to sell sweets excluding the weight of the packet, many of them actually follow this rule.

While visiting Bikrampur Mistanna Bhander in Khilkhet – a famous sweet shop in Dhaka – The Business Standard found that on every purchase of one kilogram of sweets, consumers get 170 grams less than what they paid for. 

The weight of the packet in which they sell sweets is approximately 170 grams. 

Bikrampur is deceiving the consumers in a similar manner while selling yoghurt – providing 200 grams less while selling one kilogram of the item. The weight of the clay pot on which curd is sold is approximately 200 grams.

The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) on Friday found these anomalies during its regular inspection, and fined the sweet shop Tk30,000 for violating consumer rights.

Describing it as deception, the Assistant Director of the DNCRP (Dhaka District) Abdul Jabbar Mondal, who led the inspection, said, "Despite repeated instructions, some sellers are still violating rules and cheating the customers. So, we took action against them."

At the same time, while inspecting confectionery shops Candid Cake and Bakery and Tangail Porabari Chomchom in the same area, the consumer rights directorate found that they do not have production date, expiration date, or retail price on the packets of bread, cake, biscuits and yoghurt. 

However, these brands are well-known manufacturers of sweets and baked goods and make a lot of profit. For violating consumer rights, Candid Cake and Bakery and Tangail Porabari Chomchom were fined Tk10,000 each.

During the same inspection, a restaurant called Kabab Place was fined Tk30,000 for producing, processing and storing food in an unhygienic environment, and also for storing unpacked yoghurt and raw meat in the same chamber of a fridge.

During the inspection, Meditech General Hospital Drug House was fined Tk20,000 for selling expired drugs.