Industrial salt imported from abroad is being sold as edible salt in the country, even though it is unfit for human consumption and seriously damages human kidney, it was learnt.
Industrial salt, sodium sulphate, originally used as detergent and drying agent in different industries, is being packaged as sodium chloride and marketed as edible salt, source said. According to Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) sodium sulphate imported as industrial salt from different countries are being sold as table salt to food manufacturers.
Unscrupulous businessmen have been importing industrial salt four times over the previous years. While industrial salt and table salt are similar in composition, there is a great deal more health regulation and inspection placed on salt that people eat, as opposed to salt that is strewn over the roads or used in chemical manufacturing.
The salt importers imported industrial salt as there is a ban on import of edible salt. The refined packaged salt is selling at Tk 40 per kg in local markets and unrefined salt is currently on sale at Tk 15 a kg.
Civil Surgeon of Narayanganj Ahsanul Haq told the Daily Observer that industrial salt, sodium sulphate, can cause various diseases and warned that eating too much of this salt can even damage the kidneys.
Sources said the two importers had earlier imported 3,000 MT of salt with high sodium chloride content through Chittagong Port and sold them in the local markets.
Bangladesh introduced the National Salt Policy in 2011 discouraging salt import. However, the government has allowed import of 0.5 million tonnes of salt over the next four months to keep the supply in the market stable.
High officials of NBR said hundreds of thousands of tonnes of white salt, harmful for the body, were being imported illegally from China regularly. "This salt costs as much as ours, but customers opt for the adulterated salt unknowingly because of its white colour," he said.
A syndicate of unscrupulous businessmen also uses forged logos of popular salt brands of the country. "They send the salt to Narayanganj and distribute it from there. This not only harms our business but also tarnishes the image of the brands," he added.
CAB sources blamed the Customs department's "lax supervision" for the import of "thousands of tonnes of adulterated salt" that go unnoticed. "The businessmen manipulate loopholes in the import policy," he claimed, accusing the Customs department of negligence of duty.
"The Customs department does not examine the products properly and do not even know what kind of goods are being imported. They only sign off the papers." Despite repeated attempts, neither the concerned Customs officials nor the Commerce Secretary could be reached for comments.
The sources said various harmful chemicals, used in adulterating products, were being imported under different names.
"The government employees do not test these properly and that is why these products are flooding the markets. We will speak to the Commerce Ministry soon in this regard," he added.
A senior Chittagong Custom Intelligence official, declining to give his name, said sodium chloride, used in various industries, was imported legally. "What can we do if someone mixes it with salt? Our duty is to seize products that are harmful or are illegally imported," he added.
Salim Raza, Additional District Magistrate of Narayanganj, told our Narayanganj correspondent that they would conduct a drive soon against unscrupulous businessmen who were selling industrial salt as edible salt.
