Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Sabikunnahar expressed frustration in parliament over widespread adulteration in everyday food products even as narcotics on the market remain unadulterated. The reserved-seat MP said that during fruit season, people cannot tell which fruit is safe or formalin-free. “There’s no adulteration in drugs, yet there is in food — that’s truly remarkable,” she said.
In response, State Minister for Food Md. Abdul Bari said the government has strengthened monitoring, mobile courts and public-awareness campaigns, including forming a special committee, to prevent food adulteration and ensure food safety.
The information emerged in answers to supplementary and written questions at Thursday’s parliament session, chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram.
In her supplementary question, Sabikunnahar said that although markets are full of fruit during the season, ordinary people remain uncertain about which fruit to buy, struggling to tell which is formalin-free and safe. She said it was astonishing that amid this blanket of adulteration, narcotics alone remain unadulterated, and asked what steps the government is taking to ensure adulteration-free food for the public.
In response, the food minister said food adulteration is an extremely sensitive issue. Adulterated food is contributing to rising cases of cancer, kidney disease and other complex illnesses in the country. He said the prime minister herself is deeply concerned about the matter.
He said a roughly three-hour high-level meeting was recently held with magistrates who conduct mobile courts and related officials. Additionally, a special committee has been formed, led by the public administration adviser, to oversee recommendations and activities needed to rid food products of adulteration. The committee has already held its first meeting and made several important decisions.
The minister said the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection and the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) would jointly conduct field-level operations. He said the government is taking all-out measures to eliminate food adulteration in line with the prime minister’s directives.
In a written response, the food minister said the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority has, from February through May this year, carried out regular market monitoring, mobile court operations, and food sample collection and testing under the Safe Food Act, 2013.
He said 3,340 food workers involved in the production, sale and marketing of important food products such as mangoes, dried fish and date-palm jaggery received safe-food training. Additionally, 15 seminars, workshops and awareness programs were conducted, along with awareness activities at 94 general and madrasa educational institutions involving 9,400 students.
The minister said BFSA officials monitored 6,444 food establishments and markets. A total of 670 food samples were tested at government-recognized laboratories. Additionally, 3,574 food samples were tested on the spot using mobile labs and 4,938 using mini labs.
He further said 171 mobile courts were conducted under the Safe Food Act, 2013. Additionally, 51 courtyard meetings were held with the participation of 2,390 housewives.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report