Action needed against food adulteration

Holy Ramadan is going on. But, the tension rises over food quality including Iftar. A group of people are using toxic chemicals with foods to gain more benefit. Greedy businessmen got involved with adulteration of food. As a result, the market is full of adulterated, toxic and unhealthy foods. The public health is in serious risk due to the adulterated food.

The main tension is- poisonous colour. Traders and vendors use several types of colour to make their Iftar items attractive. Recent survey said that there is tendency of adulteration in sweet and oily foods. People used to buy more ready-made foods during Ramadan. And dishonest businessmen took the chance to make more benefit using harmful chemicals. Taking this adulterated food people face serious trouble.

Adulterated food with toxic chemicals is harmful to health. Even, these foods take people to death. It is learnt that harmful chemical formalin is used in fish and milk, carbide in fruits, Urea in pop corn (Muri). The use of cloth colour in powder Masla, Chanachur and other dry foods is common. These types of adulterated food are seriously harmful for body and responsible for cancer. Similarly, businessmen are using tannery wastage to make poultry feed. However, the greedy traders forget that these tannery wastes carry toxic chromium and other harmful chemicals. 

There is a proverb that health is the wealth. Safe food is must to keep the body fit. But, it is a matter of great regret that there is scarcity of safe food in the country. A study on food security said that more that 40 percent foods in the market is contaminated with harmful chemicals. As a result, a large number of people are becoming sick with several types of life threatening diseases including cancer, kidney and liver disease.

Actually, most of the regular foods are adulterated. Even, some of our medicines are adulterated. There is a strict law to prevent food adulteration but, there is no effective action against crime. Lack of proper surveillance, strict action and awareness, the crime is going on. Sometimes, mobile courts in Dhaka took some drastic drive in the city but that is not enough to stop the food adulteration. And the picture in other parts of the country is not satisfactory especially in rural areas and villages.

According to the food safety act 2005, the use of calcium carbide, formalin, pesticide or toxic chemical in food is totally banned. The use of preservative is banned in developed countries. There is a law in Bangladesh in this regard but the no effective action. The numbers of cancer, kidney and liver patients are increasing rapidly. Doctors are blaming adulterated food for the diseases now.

Not only foods but also the medicine that we use to get relive from diseases is adulterated. Action must to overcome the situation. The authority should take the matter seriously. Harder steps are needed to ensure food security. Side by side, the general people and private and public organizations should come forward jointly to solve the crisis. A social movement is needed in this regard.


risingbd/Dhaka/Jun 8, 2017/Ali Nowsher/Nasim