Dhaka, Bangladesh — A special food-safety court in Dhaka has issued arrest warrants for two senior executives at Nestlé Bangladesh after government-mandated lab tests found substandard versions of the chocolate wafer bar KitKat being marketed to consumers.
The warrants name Nestlé Bangladesh’s Managing Director Deepal Abeywickrema and Public Policy Manager Riasad Jaman. They were issued by a magistrate of the Dhaka South City Corporation’s Safe Food Court following a complaint from a food-safety inspector who said samples of KitKat failed basic food-safety standards.
According to court documents cited by police, laboratory analysis found that the chocolate-coated wafer bars contained acidity levels and milk-solid/milk-fat contents far below the permissible limit, suggesting possible decomposition or substitution. The manufacturer has imported the products via supply chains in Dubai and India, authorities said.
In a public statement, Nestlé Bangladesh rejected the findings and called the arrest warrant an act of “harassment.” The company said it had submitted all relevant importation and quality-control documentation, tested the products in accredited laboratories, and found them compliant—while also claiming that existing Bangladeshi standards do not specifically address chocolate-covered wafers like KitKat.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for 15 December, according to the court order. Food-safety authorities have flagged this as one among several recent crackdowns on companies allegedly selling adulterated or substandard food and beverage products in Bangladesh.
The case adds to mounting scrutiny of global food brands operating in emerging markets, where standards enforcement and supply-chain oversight often face logistical and regulatory challenges. Some analysts warn that the scandal could damage consumer trust not only in Nestlé but across the packaged-foods industry in regions where regulation is inconsistent.
Given the global footprint of the parent company and the high recognizability of the KitKat brand, the outcome of the court proceedings could resonate far beyond Bangladesh’s borders, with implications for how multinational corporations manage regulatory compliance, import oversight, and liability in food-safety matters.
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