Kaptan Bazar now formalin-free
Traders yesterday declared Kaptan Bazar as the sixth formalin-free kitchen market in the capital, and pledged not to sell formalin-tainted adulterated commodities.
Malibagh Kitchen Market, Shantinagar Bazar, Mohakhali Kitchen Market, Gulshan-2 Kitchen Market and Mohammadpur's Town Hall Kitchen Market are the other formalin-free markets in the capital.
Country's apex trade body --The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) -- arranged a programme at Kaptan Bazar to make the declaration.
Commerce Minister GM Quader inaugurated the formalin-free market by cutting a red ribbon and handing over a formalin detector machine to Kaptan Bazar kitchen market supervisory committee's president M Ziar Uddin and secretary Abdul Mannan Moyna.
From now on, both buyers and traders at the Kaptan Bazaer kitchen market will be able to detect formalin in commodities like fish, fruits and other foodstuff by using the machine donated by Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd.
Formalin, a chemical solution, is widely used for preservation in textile and leather industries. But its use in fish and foodstuff has long-lasting effects on public health, which may lead to fatal diseases like cancer.
FBCCI is currently leading a campaign against the use of formalin in foodstuff.
Addressing the programme, GM Quader said the amount of imported formalin has come down to 150 metric tonnes last year from 400 metric tonnes in 2010-11 due to the initiatives taken by his ministry.
FBCCI president Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed attended the programme among others.
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