Dr Matiur Rahman :
Every human being has to take food to survive. Again eating adulterated food destroys life. Food adulteration has taken a terrible shape in Bangladesh, and some unscrupulous businessmen are involved in this activity. Foods that are not standard, not healthy, but more harmful to health are ‘adulterated food’. To ensure a healthy and disease-free life, all people must be vocal in preventing Adulteration and take necessary measures.
“Adulterated” is a legal term that means mixed, not genuine, and the mixture of inferior products with a superior product. In other words, adding one or more extracts to raw or prepared foods increases the food’s quantity, consistency or taste. In Bangladesh, rice, pulses, flour, fruits, oil,spices, fish, meat, and medicine are often adulterated. The harmful chemical is being added to foods and medicine. As a result, people are losing their kidneys, liver and eyesight, and the tendency of terrible diseases, including cancer, is increasing.
Food adulteration is now a threat to human life. The trend of Adulteration is increasing drasticallyin Bangladesh, andit has taken shape as an epidemic. The reasons for food adulteration are the expectation of higher profits,lack of supervision,not enforcement of the law correctly, lack of morality, lack of food transportation and storage facilities, buyer’s attention, and so on.
According to the World Health Organisation, about 600 million people get sick yearly from eating adulterated and contaminated food. Of these, 4 lakh 42 thousand people died. In addition, 1 lakh 25 thousand or 43 per cent of children under five died from eating contaminated food worldwide. According to a research report by the Save the Environment Movement, in our country, 3 lakh people have cancer, 2 lakh from kidney disease and 1.5 lakh from diabetes every year due to consumption of adulterated food alone. In addition, pregnant mothers gave birth to 1.5 million disabled children. The number of patients infected with hepatitis, kidney, liver and lungs in the country is increasing daily due to the consumption of adulterated food. Due to food adulteration, many people are at health risk.
Unscrupulous people are selling adulterated food to get more profit. To protect the rights and interests of consumers, it is essential to reduce the rate of Adulteration and fraud in food and services to zero through regular market supervision and maximum enforcement of the law. A class of unscrupulous traders is taking advantage of the fact that market surveillance is not done correctly, which is not desirable. It is the expectation that the government will give utmost importance to protecting consumer rights and interests.
Food adulteration is a severe social disorder. Therefore, society must be protected from Adulteration at any cost. To prevent food adulteration, timely legislation or the existing law should adequatelybe enforced. Regular mobile courts should be run for adequate law enforcement, and media campaigns should be conducted. Conventional norms and registration processes need to be revised.
International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) must certify products directly related to human health. Security belts must be formed between neighbouring or regional countries to ensure food security, supply, exchange and quality assurance. If necessary, the cooperation of international organisations like the World Food Programme (WFO) andthe World Health Organization (WHO) can be taken. Civil society needs to be involved in preventing food adulteration. In this case, Bangladesh Consumer Association, various merchant associations and environmental organisations have to play a more substantial role.
Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI), Department of Consumer Rights Protection, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), and Bangladesh Safe Food Authority should be further strengthened and expanded. A timely regulatory body is essential to prevent food adulteration, and such institutions must have transparency and accountability and be free from bureaucratic complications. Above all, the people of the country must be made aware. Enforce the law and ensure exemplary punishment.
Food adulteration is one of the most talked-about issues in Bangladesh. It is a social disorder, and those who mix contaminated food are the enemies of society, state and people. Those involved in or involved in this crime are heinous criminals. Strict enforcement of existing laws to prevent Adulteration in food, ensuring punishment for crime and regular market inspections are required. It is also essential to build social resistance to avoid food adulteration.
(The writer is a researcher and
development worker).
