<i>A market with a difference</i>
Traders in the capital yesterday declared the Malibagh Kitchen Market as the country's first ever formalin and carbide free market.
The declaration was made at a programme to launch an FBCCI project titled “Formalin and poisonous carbide free ideal market.”
Commerce Minister GM Quader inaugurated the project at Malibagh by handing over a sophisticated formalin detector machine to Malibagh Market Traders Cooperatives Ltd.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) will monitor the project. It has trained up four staff of Malibagh Traders Unity Council (MTUC) to operate the Tk 1.35 lakh machine smoothly.
The move comes at a time when food adulteration runs rampant in the country.
Many fish sellers spray fish with formalin, a chemical usually used for preservation of tissues. It makes the fish stiff and keeps them looking fresh for longer.
From vegetables, milk, drinks, sweetmeats, ice cream to spices, almost everything is adulterated. There is almost none escaping the grave health hazard.
From now on, no trader will be allowed to sell fish and other perishable items in the market without checking those with the machine, said Rezaul Islam Montu, convenor of MTUC.
FBCCI Director Helal Uddin said they will supply similar machines to 10 city markets with the help of banks and other private organisations.
“We have a plan to declare Dhaka a formalin free city within the next two months,” he added.
Backed with finance from the Social Islami Bank Limited, the FBCCI will soon give two formalin detector machines to Gulshan-2 kitchen market and New Market Kitchen Market.
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