The government has launched a massive crackdown on adulteration of food, medicine and other everyday essentials in capital Dhaka in a bid to ensure public health safety during the holy month of Ramadan. Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) launched the drives separately conducting mobile courtsat different parts of the city.
he mobile courts in last three days destroyed huge amount of adulterated foods, besides sending the unscrupulous traders to jail and fining them heavily.
Apart from food adulteration, mobile court drives by city corporations would be carried out against adulteration of other essentials also, said corporation officials. According to law enforcement agencies, many new factories have sprouted up at different cities including the capital across the country, targeting lucrative business during Ramadan.
According to media reports, some unscrupulous traders since long had been using urea fertilizer in producing muri, or puffed rice while some others are producingvarious daily food items including sweets, fermented milk, bread, biscuits, and even in juicewithout BSTI licenses. To increase the beauty and attraction of food, mixing colours in food is allowed unto a certain level. Due to the high price of food colour, however, some money-mongering businessmen use fabric colours in food.
According to BSTI, the number of adulterated food producing factories is much higher than the number of authorised factories. Officials said a wide-range of food items including semai, noodles, ghee, packaged chilies, packaged spices, flour, bread, cakes are being producedin unhygienic environment in substandard factories. In those factories, traders are mixing harmful chemicals and colours in their products without any kind of authorised testing.
The consumers of those adulterated foods are being affected by long term diseases including cancer.
Public Health Expert Dr Lelin Choudhury told the Bangladesh Post, “Any food, rotten or adulterated, is harmful to health. Long term consuming of such substandard, date-expired and adulterated products make a kind of layer day by day in our esophagus which leads to various types of stomach and digestive problems.”
On Thursday, a Mobile Court conducted by RAB shut down to two unauthorised companies at capital’s Kamrangirchar area, for producing fake drinking powder, digestion tablets, ice cream, pickles and juices. Besides, three people were sentenced to various jail terms while a vermicelli factory was fined Tk 1 lakh. A day ago, RAB conducted operation at a fruit storehouse at capitals Badamtoli area, confiscating several tonnes of date-expired dates.
On Thursday, BSTI filed cases against 21 institutions including the prominent Almas Super Shop for selling unauthorised cosmetics, juices and baby foods.
On the same day, BSTI filed casesagainst a number of factories including Adi Bikrampur Sweets and Bakery at capital’s Khilgoan area, Himel Dairy Farm and Beauty Bread and Biscuit Factory of Sabujbagh and AR Agro Products Ltd of Narsingdi for distributing fermented milk, violating BSTI Act 2018.
DNCC Mayor, Atiqul Islam, on Thursday visited ‘Town Hall Market’ at Mohammadpur area, checking prices of essentials at different shops. During a drive at Hatirpul kitchen market DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokon said, “Despite our limited manpower, we are conducting our drive every dayconsidering public health.”
A DNCC mobile court on Wednesday confiscated huge amount of date-expired medicines from ‘Medilab Medicine Services’ at Bhatara Police Station, and sentencedthe owner to six months’ imprisonment, said public relations officer ASM Mamun.
On Wednesday, BSTI filed cases against 17 institutions for production and marketing of products without BSTI license, as well as for rigging weight measurements. Cases have been filed according to BSTI Act 2018 against capital’s ‘Mohan Chand Sweets’ for marketing and production of fermented milk (Doi) and Swamibagh’s Shakti Aushadhalaya Private Limited for selling/ distributing substandard tooth powder and honey.
Other surveillance teams of BSTI filed cases against ‘Muslim Sweets’ in the capital’s Rampura, New Messers Muslim Mistanno Bhandar and Bakery at Shantibagh and Golden Sweets at Malibagh for distributing adulterated sweets and fermented milk. Joint BSTI and DSCCdrives were also carried out at Dhanmondi and Hazaribagh area in the capital, filing cases against fish, vegetable and meat sellers for overpricing. Moreover, for violating Standard and Measurement Act 2009 using yardstick instead of meter, cases were also filed against several tailors in the capital’s Mirpur area.