Bring regulators under single unit, boost awareness, vigilance

Researchers, civil society members and traders yesterday urged the government to boost awareness campaigns and reinforce vigilance for safe food by bringing regulatory agencies under a single entity.

Consumers' rights cannot be ensured until the agencies work in coordination while holding accountable stakeholders in production, processing and sales is urgent to maintain food safety, they told a workshop.

"Landscape of the Food Safety System in Bangladesh" was organised by British Council with Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) in the capital's Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies.

"There are many regulatory agencies and laws related to food safety... But there are many gaps among (them)," said a BFSA board member, Prof Abdul Malek.

A huge number of people suffer from food-borne diseases, mainly caught from unhygienic environments, while it is urgent to give proper attention to environmental health, he said.

"Definitely, pesticides and other chemicals are required to kill insects. But it is essential to have a guideline on the use," he added.

Very few of the over 80,000 clinical and diagnostic labs now present have accreditation and the government should seriously address this for it is related to food safety concerns, said Prof Abdul Malek.

Bangladesh Supermarket Owners' Association General Secretary Md Zakir Hossain alleged that traders face huge losses as different agencies set different food safety standards. "Traders should not be fined until the laboratory results come out," he demanded.

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution Assistant Director Arafat Hossain Sarker said it would be difficult to handle food safety until the government set limits to chemical use.

"Producers can claim that their food items are safe. But how can they say so until a designated authority certifies them," he added.

Jesmin Parvin, senior assistant secretary, Ministry of Food, advocated for regular mobile court drives.

Associate Prof Syed Abdul Hamid of Dhaka University's Institute of Health Economics presented a report highlighting major public concerns like lack of basic hygiene and sanitation on food production premises and markets and use of formalin in animal-sourced foods and vegetables.