Md Joynal Abedin Khan :
Despite monitoring by the law enforcing agencies, including Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and the city corporations, adulterated and sub-standard food and Iftar items are being sold reportedly in different markets in the city and other parts of country since the beginning of the holy month of Ramzan.
The syndicates of who are involved with selling adulterated food and goods have become active again to earn money by dodging law enforcement forces, intelligence sources said.
Apart from established restaurants and shops, the seasonal food bazaars set up makeshift stalls on both sides of lanes, bi-lanes and streets in the afternoon, displaying varied Iftar items and other food patterns being prepared since the morning. Sometimes, sub-standard items are being produced by mixing unhygienic elements in dark and under-key lock rooms, they said.
The food items, displayed in an organised manner on tables in front of shops, are piazu (deep-fried lentil paste), beguni (deep-fried brinjal slices), potato chop (deep-fried mashed potato ball), halim (a stew-like dish made of wheat, barley, meat, lentils and spices), jalebi (sweet) and local as well as imported fruit at different restaurants.
Sources said, flooding the market with adulterated food and coloured Iftar items continued unabated posing serious health hazard to the consumers, according to them.
Physicians observed that children are the worst sufferers of the different toxic chemicals and textile dyes used to colour Iftar items. Mangoes, pineapples, papayas and bananas are being ripened artificially by using a carcinogenic (cancer inducing) chemical called ethylene oxide, they added.
The government has taken a number of initiatives to check adulteration and contamination in foods, particularly in Iftar items and fruits, as chemical contamination with mixture of toxic ingredients and unapproved colours in foods goes rampant during the holy month of Ramzan, said a BSTI official seeking unanimous.
The government has already asked the BSTI authorities to take necessary measures, including conducting anti-adulteration drives, to check chemical contamination in food items, he said.
The BSTI was also asked to conduct awareness campaign across the country involving people of different strata of lives to make them aware of the adverse consequence of food adulteration, according to him.
Several mobile courts have already started drives and jailed many traders for using toxic chemicals to ripe fruits.
Professor Emeritus of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dr M Feroz Ahmed stressed the need for implementation of the existing laws to check mixing chemicals and toxic colours in foods.
He advocated for strong monitoring as some traders are mixing toxic chemicals in foods, including Iftar, in absence of proper monitoring.
Prof Feroz, also Vice-President of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa), suggested traders not to use any colour in foods, saying, “But, if necessary, the colours approved by BSTI can be used in foods.”
About the adverse consequences of chemical contamination in foods, Associate Professor Dr Ranjan Kumar Nath said, “People may suffer from different kinds of deadly diseases like cancer, kidney and liver diseases and some vital organs of human body may be dysfunctional after taking toxic foods.”
He stressed the need for stopping such illegal activities immediately to prevent unwanted deaths and disabilities caused by taking contaminated foods.
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sayeed Khokon has said stern action will be taken against those involved in selling adulterated food and violating the sanctity of Ramadan in clubs and bars in the city during the holy month.
He said that drives will be conducted in the city corporation area during Ramzan to check food adulteration in restaurants and punitive measures, including fine and imprisonment, will be taken.
