Draft Safe Food Law-2013 to be passed during next JS session

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FE Report Food Minister Muhammad Adbur Razzaque said Monday the draft of the Safe Food Law-2013 will be passed during the next session of parliament. "The draft of the Safe Food Law-2013 will be passed during the next session of the parliament to ensure safe food for public," he said. The minister was speaking as the chief guest at a roundtable titled 'Food Safety' organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) at a city hotel. President of FBCCI Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed delivered the address of welcome while Vice President of the apex trade body Md Helal Uddin presented a key-note paper on safe food. Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany Dr Albrecht Conze was present as the special guest. First Vice President of FBCCI Monowara Hakim Ali offered the vote of thanks. The cabinet on July 1, 2013 approved in principle the draft of the Safe Food Law -2013 with a provision of 14-year imprisonment as the highest punishment for food adulterators. The minister said the government is going to enact a strict law as the selling of chemical-treated food items, including fruits and vegetables, has taken an alarming turn across the country. He said the draft of the law proposes control of the use of various toxic chemicals in food items. He said once the law is passed by the parliament, then it will pave the way for the formation of a new 'Safe Food Authority' with adequate administrative and technical capability to ensure the quality of food during production, packaging and distribution. Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed said it is possible to check food adulteration if the consumers are conscious and traders are honest. He called upon the traders not to mix formalin, calcium carbide and other chemicals in the food items. Md Helal Uddin called upon the government to strictly check the import of formalin aiming to avoid indiscriminate use of it. He suggested that the government should give the sole authority to the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) to import formalin. Speaking on the occasion Deputy Managing Director of Abdul Monem Ltd ASM Mohiuddin Monem said the government move to enact Safe Food Law-2013 will ensure food safety and help build country's reputation locally and globally. He said that there should be categorisation of businesses while enforcing the proposed law. He suggested strengthening of the proposed 'Safe Food Authority' so that it could monitor properly the activities of the organisations involved in production, processing, packaging and distribution of different food items. Country Representative of Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung Fur Die Freiheit (FNF) Dr Najmul Hossain and Professor Nazma Shaheen of Institute of Nutrition and Food Science (INFS) of University of Dhaka, among others, took part in the discussion.