The drive has been welcome, but owners said the mobile teams do not let them speak out. There was an absence of food inspectors from Bangladesh Standard Testing Institute (BSTI) and Dhaka City Corporation (DCC). This, owners fear could hamper the use of imported food products as only food inspectors can determine whether the food is adulterated or not.

Restaurateurs said they were going through a dull phase, as most customers do not eat out anymore. More than 100,000 employees of over 4,000 restaurants in the capital are in fear of losing their jobs.

Shakhawat Uddin, Sajna's managing director said: "We are very happy that this drive is a start to control the quality of food and should continue. But on July 24, the mobile court that checked our premises consisted of a magistrate, police personnel and journalists. There were no food specialists from either the DCC or BSTI."

"As there was no food specialist, these officers did not know what soy sauce was, and declared it unhygienic because of its pungent smell. We use 'Kikkoman' the best soy sauce, from Japan. Soy sauce has an irritating smell but that does not mean it is bad and had not exceeded the expiry date. We were also blamed for using coloring ingredients as the team found onions which had been dipped in beetroot extract," he said.

"We were not allowed to explain and they continued to fine us at every turn till the amount reached Tk. 40,000. When we went to pay the fine, they refused to issue a receipt against the payment. No charge sheet stating the allegation was sent to us," he added. He also said that other restaurateurs were using the same cooking products but only they were blamed.

Managers of other Indian and Thai restaurants expressed their anxiety about the process and said that they were dependent on imported cooking products like sauces and spices. They felt that experts should check these products to avoid confusion.

Anwar Karim, owner of Lemon Grass thinks this is a very good drive. "The rate at which dead chickens are used in restaurants, this initiative was needed and should continue."

But he said, like others, they too use the same soy sauce and other sauces like Hunt's BBQ (bar-be-cue) sauce, which are imported products and do not have a BSTI stamp. If these products are tested by BSTI beforehand, then these products could be bought from the open market.

Yet many restaurateurs have heaved a sigh of relief after the drive. They said food colouring contain highly cancerous elements and the mobile court was doing an excellent job bringing such items to light and those using these items are now very alert.

Akku Chowdhury, head of operations of Transcom Foods Limited that runs Pizza Hut in Gulshan said that selling of adulterated food had been going for a long time. "But the regulatory bodies should be honest in issuing certificates on checking. The restaurateurs can take the initiative to introduce new imported cooking products from the market, get them checked and stamped by BSTI. This process could ease a lot of hassle," he said.

Meanwhile, vice president of the Chinese Restaurant Owners Association, Abdur Rahman said they have joined hands with Bangladesh Food Merchants Association (BFMA) in demanding the authorities like DCC and BSTI to provide a policy on operating restaurants.

"We wholeheartedly support the moves of the mobile court. The restaurants making money by selling adulterated food should be taken to task but not all of us use these products. Thus, a policy will help us keep run the restaurant with quality food," he said.

Rahman also added that according to the BFMA decision shutters of around 25,000 restaurants across the country would come down today and tomorrow to protest harassment in the name of mobile court operation.