Food poisoning has become a serious problem in Bangladesh. Toxic chemicals that cause serious public health hazards are present alarmingly in almost all fruits available in the market.
Formalin (formaldehyde), the toxic chemical used in labs and at morgues of medical colleges, has become the most common substance to preserve fish, fruits, vegetables and milk. This, by any standard, is a vicious criminality. On the one hand, the unscrupulous business people are using toxic chemicals for ripening fruits before time and on the other, they are soaking fruits in this particular toxic chemical in an attempt to give them a better look as well as keep them free from rotting.
A study has found that many fruits in the markets across Bangladesh are laced with toxics chemicals used to keep them from rotting. An environmental group Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA) disclosed horrifying findings on the use of formalin, after collecting 263 samples of fruit from 35 different points in Dhaka city alone from June 01 to June 10 this year. Samples were tested by using Z-300 formaldehyde meter.
The group found 95 per cent of grapes, 100 per cent of blackberries, 91 per cent of bananas, 66 per cent of mangoes, 77 per cent of dates, 59 per cent of apples and 69 per cent of oranges and 95 per cent of lychees severely contaminated by formaldehyde.
In another study conducted this year with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a team of National Food Safety Laboratory of Bangladesh also found unsafe levels of pesticides in 35 per cent of fruits available in the market.
Widespread use of toxic chemicals in preservation of fruit is posing a serious threat to public health. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) chief Benazir Ahmed equated the situation with slow poisoning of the masses and pleaded "not to get involved with buying, selling or consuming formalin contaminated fruits". A DMP spokesman said, fruits could naturally contain 0.03-0.15 ppm (part per million) level of formalin, but during inspection in the Dhaka markets, police found the level between 3.5 ppm to 46 ppm.
The existing laws to deal with these extreme forms of food adulteration are either too weak or are not being enforced properly, when we see: (a) the Safe Food Law 2013 not yet being enforced, (b) the highest punishment as per this law being only a maximum of five years' jail-time and a fine of Tk 5 hundred thousand, (c) High Court's directive of establishing one Safe Food court in every district being overlooked, (d) Safe Food Rules 2014 still in draft form, (e) Bangladesh Safe Food Authority not yet functional.
The anti-toxic chemical movement in Bangladesh is not sufficient for food safety. The monitoring is limited to checking toxic chemicals across the country, because they can only find contamination caused by formalin, but contamination by other toxic chemicals in fruits remains undetected.
A firm commitment from the political establishment is the crying need of the hour to wage a sustained campaign against the perpetrators who are ceaselessly at work to cash in on the health hazards of millions in the country. For this to achieve, relentless enforcement of existing laws with the execution of highest possible penalty, awareness-building campaign among consumers, promotion of ethical practices among the business community with active involvement of the business leaders and capacity development of public health labs to test fruits for toxic on the spot are needed. The consumer rights groups should be more vocal and play active role in developing a mass campaign/movement for toxic-free fruits in Bangladesh.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
