Safe food key to easing pressure on hospitals: DC Zahid

Ensuring safe food is crucial to preventing disease and easing pressure on hospitals, Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mian said on Saturday (September 19), calling for greater focus on prevention rather than treatment.


Food safety and hygiene must be ensured at every stage from production and preparation to storage and serving to reduce preventable health risks, he said.

The DC was speaking after an awareness rally and special cleanliness drive at restaurants in Chattogram city on Saturday.

Restaurants have been given until September 24 to address shortcomings in their kitchens, food preparation and serving practices, storage systems and overall hygiene, he added.

"We need to ask ourselves: Do we want to make hospital queues even longer, or do we want to keep people healthy before they fall ill?" Zahidul stated.

Despite an increase in hospitals and healthcare facilities, pressure on the health system has not eased, he said. Patients still struggle to find beds at many hospitals, he said.

"We need to look at what hospital queues were like 10 years ago and what they are like today. Even with more hospitals, patients often struggle to get beds. We need to find out why."

Greater emphasis should therefore be placed on preventing disease alongside providing treatment, with safe and nutritious food forming a key part of that approach, he said.

"If we do not consume healthy and nutritious food, we cannot build a healthy nation." Food safety risks are not confined to hotels and restaurants, the DC said.

Excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture, indiscriminate use of medicines and antibiotics in livestock and poultry, and poor hygiene during food preparation, storage and serving can compromise food safety at different stages, he added.

Everyone involved in the food chain from producers to those preparing and serving food must take responsibility for ensuring safety, Zahidul said.

He also pointed to people's growing reliance on food prepared outside the home, particularly among working families, as well as the increasing use of restaurants and online food delivery services.

Against this backdrop, ensuring food safety at restaurants has become an increasingly important public health issue, he said.

Years of enforcement drives and fines have failed to bring lasting changes in some establishments, with similar violations recurring after penalties are imposed, the DC said.

The administration would therefore focus on awareness and accountability alongside enforcement.

"Our responsibility is not merely to impose fines. Those running businesses must also take responsibility," he said.

The district administration is also planning to create a preliminary database containing health information of restaurant workers.

Those directly involved in preparing, cooking and serving food should undergo regular health checks to minimise the risk of communicable diseases spreading through food establishments, Zahidul stated.


Restaurants must maintain the standards required for the categories under which they are registered, the DC said.

Consumers have the right to receive food and services consistent with an establishment's declared standard, he added.

Restaurants failing to meet the requirements could have their grades reviewed, with consumers to be informed of any downgrade.


The awareness rally began at Chattogram Circuit House and ended at the Stadium Market premises after passing through Kazir Dewri.

It was held as part of the "Porichchhonno Kori Nagar-Gram, Gori Nandonik Chattogram" campaign and the nationwide dengue prevention and cleanliness drive for 2026.

A cleanliness drive was later carried out at restaurants in the stadium area, while restaurant owners and workers elsewhere in the district conducted similar activities at their establishments. The campaign also included measures to eliminate potential Aedes mosquito breeding grounds.

The DC said the district administration has been carrying out various initiatives since July to make Chattogram cleaner and healthier, with the latest drive focusing on restaurant hygiene and food safety.

Speaking at the programme, Chattogram-9 lawmaker Mohammad Abu Sufian called for regular health checks for restaurant workers involved in cooking and serving food, as well as maintaining their health certificates.

Representatives of restaurant owners also pledged cooperation in ensuring safe food and hygienic conditions.

Zahidul said ensuring food safety was a shared responsibility involving producers, businesses, restaurant owners, workers, regulators and consumers.

Noting Chattogram's longstanding role as a commercial hub, he said the city could set an example for the rest of the country in food safety and public health.