Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) will perform lead role to ensure the food safety for the people as the government expressed ‘zero’ tolerance on food adulteration.
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Wednesday said this while addressing as the chief guest attending a technical assistance projecting signing ceremony between the national food safety regulatory agency and Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) at city’s Expatriates’ Welfare Bhaban here.
BFSA Chairman M Abdul Kaiyum Sarker and JICA representative Yuho Hayakawa signed the record of discussion on behalf of their respective organization.\
Japanese Ambassador in Bangladesh Naoki Ito also attended the agreement signing ceremony.
To ensure food safety, the minister said there is no alternative of raising overall capacity of the BSFA, adding that so, the BFSA have to enhance their manpower expertise, their technical knowhow, training and institutional capacity.
The present government has enacted the Safe Food Act in 2013 and Bangladesh Food Safety Authority was founded on 2015.
Terming the joint technical project between the BFSA and JICA is the first in kind, Majumder said “from the very beginning of the Independent Bangladesh, Japan played pivotal role in development programme, but the project was Japanese first venture for safe food.”
Lauding economic progress of Bangladesh, Naoki Ito said “ the recent economic progress of Bangladesh is very much significant. The BFSA will play important role in ensuring safe food in Bangladesh through the project,”he added.
The technical assistance project agreements includes imparting training to the BFSA officials, different policy formulation, enactment of Standard Order of procedure or SOP, time-befitting guideline, formulation of strategic plan 2021-2026, set up different reference labs and recruitment of specialist consultants.
Food Secretary Mst Nazmanara, Additional Secretary of the economic relations division Dr Shahida Akhter were also attended the programme.
