DHAKA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - At least 50 people were injured as clashes broke out at a garment factory near the Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Monday, police said.

They said the violence started as the workers alleged food items supplied to them by the factory authority were stale and of low quality.

Witnesses said hundreds of angry workers joined the protest at the Abani Knitwear Textile Mill at Hrishipara, and clashed with factory guards and police called in to restrain them.

At least 50 people including a factory official were injured, witnesses told reporters.

As the violence spread outside the factory, buses, trucks and other vehicles were stranded on a highway linking Dhaka to the northern districts.

Police cleared the roadblock after several hours, the witnesses said.

"We rushed to the factory immediately after receiving the information and managed to calm down the protesters by promising to supply better food from now," said Mohammad Fazlul Huq, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Garments account for the lion's share of Bangladesh exports, which totalled a record $14.11 billion in the financial year that ended in June 2008. (Reporting by Serajul Islam Quadir; Editing by Anis Ahmed and Jerry Norton)

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