Speakers at a workshop in Dhaka have urged the authorities to strictly enforce the ban on selling edible oil in open drums and to make quality packaging mandatory to ensure nationwide access to vitamin-fortified safe cooking oil.
They warned that the continued sale of open-drum oil violates government directives and poses a serious threat to public health.
The call came on Wednesday at a journalists’ workshop titled “Safe Vitamin Fortified Edible Oil for All: Progress, Challenges, and Way Forward,” held at BMA Bhaban in Dhaka.
The event was jointly organised by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh, with participation from 28 journalists representing print, television, and online media.
Speakers highlighted that although the law mandates fortifying edible oil with vitamin A, most oil available in the market remains either poorly fortified or entirely lacking in vitamins. Citing a study by ICDDR,B, they said about 65 percent of edible oil is sold in drums—of which 59 percent contain no vitamin A at all, while only 7 percent meet the legal standard for fortification. This deficiency is contributing to the growing prevalence of vitamin A deficiency, particularly among children.
They cautioned that many open drums are reused containers that previously held chemicals or industrial materials, which can contaminate the oil and pose severe health hazards. Such drums also lack labelling or traceability, making it impossible to verify product quality or source.
Although the government issued directives to phase out bulk soybean oil sold in drums by July 2022 and bulk palm oil by December 2022, the speakers noted that these orders have not been effectively implemented at the field level. They called for coordinated action from the Ministry of Industries, BSTI, the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection (DNCRP), and the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority to ensure safe, vitamin-enriched oil across the country.
The workshop also drew attention to the rising prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, suggesting that fortifying edible oil with both vitamins A and D could be a cost-effective and sustainable public health solution. Participants noted that exposure to sunlight and excessive light can degrade vitamins, advocating for the use of opaque, light-resistant bottles.
They further warned that vitamin A deficiency increases the risk of childhood blindness and maternal mortality, while insufficient vitamin D contributes to rickets, osteoporosis, and non-communicable diseases such as heart disease.
Fakir Muhammad Munawar Hossain, Director (Deputy Secretary) of the DNCRP’s Operations and Laboratories Department; Mustak Hassan Md. Iftekhar, Consultant at the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute; Md. Shafiqul Islam, Business In-Charge of Bangla Tribune; and ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA, spoke as discussants.
The key presentations were delivered by Dr. Aliva Haque, Program Officer at the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, and Md. Hasan Shahriar, Head of Programs at PROGGA.
AU/BP
