Safe food key to easing pressure on hospitals: DC Zahid

Ensuring food safety is crucial to preventing diseases and reducing pressure on hospitals, Chattogram Deputy Commissioner  (DC) Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mian said on Saturday, stressing the need to focus more on prevention 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 a special cleanliness drive at restaurants in Chattogram. 

The awareness rally began at Chattogram Circuit House and ended at Stadium Market after passing through Kazir Dewri. It was organised under the “Porichchhonno Kori Nagar-Gram, Gori Nandonik Chattogram” campaign and the nationwide dengue prevention and cleanliness drive for 2026.

A cleanliness drive was later conducted at restaurants in the stadium area, including measures to eliminate potential Aedes mosquito breeding grounds.

Zahidul said food safety was a shared responsibility of producers, businesses, restaurant owners, workers, regulators and consumers. He said Chattogram, as a long-standing commercial hub, could set an example for the rest of the country in food safety and public health.

Joining the event, Chattogram-9 lawmaker Mohammad Abu Sufian called for regular health checks and updated health certificates for restaurant workers involved in cooking and serving food.

The DC said restaurants had been given time, until September 24, to address shortcomings in their kitchens, food preparation and serving practices, storage systems and overall hygiene. “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?” Zahid said.

Despite an increase in hospitals and healthcare facilities, pressure on the health system has not eased, he said, noting that patients still struggle to find beds at many hospitals. “We need to find out why hospital queues remain long even after more hospitals have been built,” he said.

Zahidul said greater emphasis should be placed on disease prevention alongside treatment, with safe and nutritious food playing an important role in building a healthy population.
 
He said food safety risks were not limited to restaurants. Excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides, indiscriminate use of medicines and antibiotics in livestock and poultry, and poor hygiene during food preparation, storage and serving could compromise food safety at different stages.

Everyone involved in the food chain, from producers to food servers, must take responsibility, he said.

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

Those involved in preparing, cooking and serving food should undergo regular health checks to reduce the risk of communicable diseases spreading through food establishments, he said.

Restaurants must maintain the standards required for their registered categories. Establishments failing to meet the requirements could have their grades reviewed, with consumers informed of any downgrade.