Food safety and Bangladesh
Photo: STAR
Talking of milk products and the inclusion of melamine in the formula are whims that need serious thoughts. I have a different perspective, I have to ask myself what are the acceptable levels in Bangladesh? Who decides these levels? Who ensures these levels are rightly present in the milk or food item? The regulatory bodies of Bangladesh & the department of health are too busy identifying the melamine levels. But what is acceptable to us and what should not enter Bangladesh are still in the hands of the businessmen. Who regulates it? Is it food and drug administration? Further, not a single milk producing/supplying company in Bangladesh furnished their authenticated test results that are internationally traceable. Then why now and why only milk products? Let's think of imported food products. We are all talking about Food Safety Management System, but are we talking about setting the acceptable limits/criteria where all the importers will give clear-cut specifications ? So, we need to question our regulators, nutritionists, doctors, and people concerned how aware we are. We talk so much about food and nutrition, but do we talk about basic food safety? We should go deeper and find what should be the specification of the food items we consume with backed up data in details, as when we try to export our foods we face lots of international requirements etc. Do any regulatory bodies clear or pass the food items that are imported to Bangladesh? Is it really meeting our requirements? So, we need to have appropriate data. Nowadays people are talking about Genetically Modified Food (GMOs), are we safe from them or are we a guinea pig to them, as our regulatory bodies have no specification in detail? This is because in European countries it is mandatory to label goods with specific data. Introducing a food safety management system should be mandatory for all food related industries, importers, preservers, stockists, food machinery producers, etc. Talking of milk products and the inclusion of melamine in the formula are whims that need serious thoughts. I have a different perspective, I have to ask myself what are the acceptable levels in Bangladesh? Who decides these levels? Who ensures these levels are rightly present in the milk or food item? The regulatory bodies of Bangladesh & the department of health are too busy identifying the melamine levels. But what is acceptable to us and what should not enter Bangladesh are still in the hands of the businessmen. Who regulates it? Is it food and drug administration? Further, not a single milk producing/supplying company in Bangladesh furnished their authenticated test results that are internationally traceable. Then why now and why only milk products? Let's think of imported food products. We are all talking about Food Safety Management System, but are we talking about setting the acceptable limits/criteria where all the importers will give clear-cut specifications ? So, we need to question our regulators, nutritionists, doctors, and people concerned how aware we are. We talk so much about food and nutrition, but do we talk about basic food safety? We should go deeper and find what should be the specification of the food items we consume with backed up data in details, as when we try to export our foods we face lots of international requirements etc. Do any regulatory bodies clear or pass the food items that are imported to Bangladesh? Is it really meeting our requirements? So, we need to have appropriate data. Nowadays people are talking about Genetically Modified Food (GMOs), are we safe from them or are we a guinea pig to them, as our regulatory bodies have no specification in detail? This is because in European countries it is mandatory to label goods with specific data. Introducing a food safety management system should be mandatory for all food related industries, importers, preservers, stockists, food machinery producers, etc.
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