UNB, Dhaka :
Amid growing concern over chemical-treated fruits, Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba) has found that 95 percent litchi and cent percent blackberry available in the city market contain formalin.
Executive general secretary of Poba Engineer Md Abdus Sobhan came up with the alarming disclosure at a pres conference at its Kalabagan office.
He said they have tested various fruits after collecting those from 35 different city markets to asses whether the seasonal fruits contain formalin.
Sobhan said they collected mango, blackberry, litchi, apple and malta from January 1 to 10 and tested those in their office.
In their test, he said, they found the dangerous chemical in 100 percent of the collected blackberry, 95 percent litchi, 66 percent mango, 59 percent apples, 69 percent malta, and 87 percent grapes.
Besides, Poba, an organisation working for saving the environment, also found 100 percent formalin in pineapple and grapes in Chittagong fruit markets.
Sobhan said the consumers, even the children, are being deprived of their rights to have safe food due to the unabated use of dangerous chemicals in different food items by unscrupulous traders.
The Poba executive general secretary said only punishing those involved in mixing chemical in fruits and other food items by mobile courts is not enough to check this evil practice.
He demeaned the government ensure harsher punishment like death sentence or life term imprisonment to the unscrupulous traders by exercising the section 25 (gha) of the Special Power Act, 1974.
