Adulterated iftar on sale
Even in the month of Ramadan, the use of formalin and other harmful chemicals in fruits, vegetables and other food items continues unabated.
An environmental group has recently tested 254 samples collected from over a hundred shops in the capital, and found formalin in 82 percent mangoes, 91 percent bananas and 100 percent grapefruits.
The Paribesh Banchao Andolan (Paba) had found the chemical also in 59 percent apples, 95 percent grapes and 77 percent dates, said the group yesterday at a press conference in its Dhaka office.
Formalin was found also in 75 percent tomatoes, 20 percent cucumbers, 60 percent brinjals, 100 percent vermicelli and 89 percent noodles, said Paba Secretary Abdus Sobhan.
He said children and pregnant mothers are being mostly affected by formalin-tainted food items.
Paba conducted the tests between June 13 and July 26.
The environmental group noted that the situation is so deplorable that the government must pass the food safety law in the next parliament session and strengthen drives against food adulteration.
Paba Chairman Abu Naser Khan termed food adulteration a silent killer and noted that the current drives against adulteration are very inadequate.
Contacted, SM Abu Sayed, assistant director of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI), said it had conducted 17 mobile courts during this month. It filed 46 cases against businessmen and fined them around Tk 44 lakh on charges of adulteration.
"As we are not provided with sufficient magistrates, we cannot conduct the drives on a large scale," he said, adding that at least five mobile courts are necessary to cover the city on a daily basis.
According to Dr Md Habibullah Talukdar Raskin, associate professor of National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital, formalin in food takes a long-term toll on the human digestive system and organs like kidney and liver.
The cabinet on July 1 approved in principle the draft of the Food Safety Act, 2013, with a provision of up to 14 years' imprisonment for food adulterators.
The draft law also sought to form a unified authority — Bangladesh Food Safety Authority — to fight food adulteration and address other food-related concerns. It also proposed forming as many food courts as deemed necessary to try adulterators.
The existing system of food quality control involves 15 ministries, 10 of them directly taking part in inspection and the enforcement of the existing food safety law. This gives them the scope of shifting the responsibility to each other.
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