Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Epaper

Unadulterated safe food, precondition to consumer rights

Published : Saturday, 18 March, 2023 at 12:00 AM  Count : 509
Md Zillur Rahaman
March was celebrated as World Consumer Rights Day. In order to uphold the rights and interests of consumers, the day is celebrated in Bangladesh like other countries through various events. Every human being needs safe, unadulterated and nutritious food for good health but getting unadulterated safe food in Bangladesh is the main bar in the way of consumer rights. It has become difficult to obtain clean food in Bangladesh. As things stand, we have lost the taste of real food by eating adulterated food. It always seems as if we are knowingly consuming poison. What fruit, what fish meat or baby food, everything is adulterated.

In any other country of the world, there is no system of voluntary adulteration of food, but in our country it is happening frequently and in some cases, it seems that there is a competition of who can add how much adulteration. New methods of adulteration are constantly being discovered. Occasionally, a few wicked traders are fined and jailed for a week or two by mobile courts, but there is no visible change or remorse among those involved in adulteration. As a result of their adulteration or poisoning, every year millions of people suffer from various deadly diseases like cancer, ulcer, hard attack, brain stroke, blood poisoning etc.

In fact, food adulteration has become a national problem. The problem is not only denying people's right to safe food, but seriously endangering public health due to numerous life-threatening and chronic diseases. Future generations are affected by food adulteration and their physical and mental development is severely affected. The issue needs to be publicized everywhere mentioning the impact of consumption of adulterated food on human health and the proper role of the authorities on how to eliminate it.

Food is the main source of energy not only for humans but also for all animals. Foods are taken into the body by various routes that provide nutrients in the form of energy or in the formation of tissues. On the other hand, adulterated food paralyzes the human digestive system. Food is being adulterated with hazardous chemicals along with basic food items in the market such as meat, fish, fruits, oil, vegetables, spices, bakery items and sweets. The toxic residues of these food items not only affect the mental and physical health of children, but also damage vital human organs such as liver, kidney and heart, as well as cause serious diseases such as cancer, hepatitis B. Shockingly, it is not only foodstuff but also life-saving medicines that are being adulterated.

Food adulteration with chemicals toxic to public health has reached epidemic proportions. Consumers and food experts have identified it as the 'silent killer'. Finding a safe, adulterant-free food item on the menu is not only very difficult, but also rare and difficult. From raw vegetables and fruits to milk, milk products, fish, meat and processed foods - every food item is contaminated and adulterated and poses a serious threat to life. New formulas and new versions of various food adulterations are published almost daily in the newspapers. Carbohydrates, formalin, heavy metals, chemicals, textile dyes, artificial sweeteners, urea etc. are widely used as food adulterants. Contamination of foods with toxic chemicals poses a serious threat to public health, especially in countries like Bangladesh where awareness levels are very low due to health ignorance and the immediate effects of consuming such foods can take life-threatening forms like diarrhea (food poisoning).

In the long run, these chemicals in food can severely affect vital organs like liver and kidney, leading to organ damage or cancer and thus premature death. The stark truth is that people of all walks of life are aware and aware of the dangers of consuming food adulterated with toxic chemicals, but this knowledge is rarely applied and practiced. However, there is no dearth of laws and regulations for food adulteration in Bangladesh. Such as fake licenses, poor quality of food, poor infrastructure and lack of hygiene, food adulteration, food impurity, wrong information about food packages, sale of products with expired dates etc. various contamination and adulteration aids.

According to the Health Department of Bangladesh, sixty percent of our population are kidney patients. Besides, 45 lakh people in the country are exposed to health risk by consuming adulterated and contaminated food and globally more than 66 crore people are getting sick due to consuming adulterated food every day and 4 lakh people are dying in this way every day. Several days ago, this terrible information was revealed during a human chain organized by a voluntary organization called Bangladesh Safe Food and Consumer Rights Movement in front of the National Press Club. This voluntary organization creates public awareness against food adulteration and inspires people on how to inculcate moral and ethical standards in people.

Various other organizations like these are working to create awareness against food adulteration and protect consumer rights. Non-profit organizations like National Directorate of Consumer Rights Protection, Fresh Food for All (FFA), Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) are some of them. The government has enacted various laws to prevent food adulteration, such as the Consumer Rights Protection Act, Safe Food Protection Act, Formalin Control Act is the most notable and these laws carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

However, the issue is being observed to be lacking in correct and proper implementation by the competent authorities. Bangladesh National Safe Food Authority has been formed several years ago to prevent food contamination and adulteration, but their visible and reliable activities are still not being observed at the field level. In fact, these regulatory authorities will always be active in the field and conduct mobile courts to punish sellers or producers for selling contaminated products or food, this is the basic idea and belief of all, but in this case, there is a huge gap between the expectations and receipts of consumers.

Interestingly, a study has found that Dhaka is a major city where the largest number of adulterants and polluters live, it can be said to be a pollution or adulterer's paradise. This pollution is sometimes done by man-made, sometimes by industrial discharge or toxic water mixture etc. Bangladesh government has taken various necessary steps to prevent this pollution but does not give proper importance to arrest the culprits, that is why pollution and adulterers are being exposed and indulged day by day.

In fact, the ultimate truth is that we lose the taste of real food when we eat contaminated or adulterated food. Adulteration of food with toxic chemicals is a serious criminal offense and these criminals are playing with the lives of consumers. These unscrupulous criminals have no feelings and should show no mercy to anyone. They are actually cold-blooded killers and are silently killing thousands of consumers by poisoning their lives with poisonous, contaminated and adulterated food.

In fact, poison free food safety should be the first priority above everything as it is the most basic need for every life. Short sentences or awareness programs of mobile courts are not enough for these culprits, but those who deliberately mix poison in food or market adulterated products, are basically robbing people's lives and for this they should be punished by death sentence or severe public punishment should be set. At the same time, public awareness through public and private initiatives is also very important to ensure consumer rights against adulterated food.

Md Zillur Rahaman, Banker and columnist


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