The World Food Day-2022 was observed in the country as elsewhere across the world on Sunday with the theme ‘Leave no one behind’. Different platforms observed the day with the demand-- good production, good nutrition, safe environment and better life.
Food safety has become a serious public health concern in Bangladesh though the country has a number of laws, regulations and policies in place to ensure food safety. Ensuring safe food still remains a major challenge in the country due to poor application of the existing laws.
People have a right to consume safe food and when most of the foods including vegetables and staple foods such as poultry and milk are found to be unsafe, it certainly paints a dire picture of food safety in the country. The recent situation regarding the hygienic standard of all marketable foods gives us staggering statistics of adulteration. According to a survey more than 75 percent of all foods sold in the markets are in some way or the other adulterated. It is startling to note that consumers in Bangladesh have been exposed to a widespread use of meat and bone meal (MBM) in poultry feed which causes antibiotic resistance and cancer. Also, there has been a series of reports on use of tannery waste as poultry feed. It is worth mentioning that consumption of tannery waste through eating fish and poultry might lead to liver and kidney diseases.
Food safety has become
a serious public health
concern in Bangladesh
Farmers in our country apply various types of pesticides to protect vegetables and crops from unwanted pests without following necessary guidelines or safety standards. The amount of pesticide residues found in vegetables, fruits and crops pose serious health risks for the human body, especially for the children. Hence, the government should take necessary initiatives to educate farmers about the negative impact of overusing pesticides on human health and environment. Farmers must be encouraged to cultivate fruits and vegetables in an organic way. We need to implement a new pesticides management law to address issues related to the unsafe use of pesticides. As we already have so many laws to ensure food safety, we need to implement them strictly and effectively.
The government must ensure that consumers are well informed to make the right choice. We believe widespread knowledge regarding food safety will not only create awareness, but also it will help ensure that government actions are having a greater impact. However, strict enforcement of hygienic practices is required to maintain the quality of foods at all levels. Regulation on food availability, accessibility and utilization should be developed and strictly followed.
