Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) pointed out Thursday high level of corruption and irregularities at each stage of food management as major impediments towards ensuring safe food consumption in the country.
TIB has demanded immediate and necessary measures to form a special body like Bangladesh Safe Food Authority for ensuring administrative monitoring of safe food.
Local chapter of the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) also called for effective implementation of the country's existing laws after bringing some changes in those to protect the people from consuming unsafe and adulterated foods.
"Consumers are now in a position of helplessness as the markets are flooded with adulterated foods in the absence of strict monitoring and effective implementation of the existing laws," TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said at a press conference.
TIB organised the press conference at Hotel Obokash of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation in the capital for unveiling a research report titled Ensuring Safe Food: Challenge of Governance and Way-outs."
Mr. Zaman said the government took some positive initiatives, including Food Safety Act-2013 and preparing draft of Formalin Control Act-2013, to ensure food safety.
"But nothing has changed. I think the level of unsafe food consumption is gradually increasing due to lack of proper implementation of the existing laws," he said.
Coordination among the government departments or agencies and enough manpower and logistics are also required to improve the overall situation, he said.
TIB Programme Manager (Research and Policy) Shahnur Rahman in a PowerPoint presentation said sanitary inspectors, field officers and officers of customs house are involved in corruption who take bribes from restaurants, shops and bakeries during inspection.
Citing report findings, he said sanitary inspectors under Health Directorate take bribes in between Tk 200 and Tk 400 from small food manufacturing units and retailers while sanitary inspectors of local government bodies take Tk 500 and Tk 1000 as bribes from restaurants and bakeries a month.
He said field officer of BSTI (Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution) unethically receives Tk 5,000-10,000 while inspecting a small and medium sized food factory.
Customs House Laboratory officers take Tk 1000-1500 in the name of sample test of imported food items while officers of Customs House take Tk 500-800 for submission of certificates of the sample test.
"Some sanitary inspectors of both Dhaka South and North City Corporations deploy sources at their own costs for inspection purpose and they illegally collect money from various business establishments for paying salaries to the sources," he added.
TIB Chairperson Advocate Sultana Kamal said that the government should immediately form Bangladesh Safe Food Authority for ensuring administrative monitoring of safe food.
"It could be constituted with the officials of various government departments and agencies concerned," she said.
Talking about the legal complexities, Sultana Kamal, also a lawyer, said the complainants face many complexities in the legal process.
"At the same time, the departments or agencies concerned have no capacity of continuing legal fights," she added.
