Nearly 45 million people are at risk because of consuming adulterated food regularly in the country. This is why implementing the ‘Safe Food Act’ is essential to ensure public health protection. This horrifying figure came up in roundtable discussion of the voluntary organisation ‘Safe Food and Consumer Movement Bangladesh’ in front of the National Press Club on Wednesday.
Worldwide, 40 million people get sick every year due to adulterated and polluted food. Up to 4 million people have died so far from infectious diseases due to adulterated food. Demanding immediate implementation of the ‘Safe Food Act-2013’ and ‘Formalin-control Act 2015’ to keep all food and commodities free of adulteration during Ramadan, Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Zakir Hossain said, the government should strictly enforce the law to ensure public health protection during Ramadan.
He also said, in case of almost all commodities of the country, adulterated food is being pushed around on shelves by dishonest traders in hopes of gaining more. In comparison to context, the implementation of the law is minimal. Under the banner of the organising organisation Kamruzzaman Bablu, president of Bangladesh National Awami Party-Bangladesh NAP general secretary expressed solidarity.
Golam Mostafa Bhuiyan said, about 15 million people have fallen sick by eating contaminated food in Southeast Asia including Bangladesh. According to the speakers, kidney diseases for chemical mixed foods affect 16 percent in the country. National Farmer-Worker Liberation Movement joint convener Manzoor Hossain Isa said, “If the adulterated mixture is not stopped now, it will soon turn into an epidemic like China’s corona virus.”
He also mentioned that, although there are multiple laws to prevent adulterated food, a class of corrupt businessmen is still out of reach due to lack of proper monitoring by the government authorities. Speaking on the occasion, Ismail Hossain Siraji, a journalism teacher at UODA Twenty-five School, spoke on behalf of humanity in the conduct of the organization’s general secretary Asaduzzaman Azam.
