Terming the state of food safety in Bangladesh 'alarming', discussants at a programme called on Sunday for proper enforcement of existing laws and changes in traders' profiteering attitude to check food adulteration.
They also identified absence of set standards and inadequate laboratory facilities as two of the key impediments to ensuring food safety in the country.
The observations came at a view-exchange meeting titled 'Existing challenges to ensure food safety and way forwards' held at a city conference centre.
Bangladesh Safe Agro Food Efforts (BSAFE) Foundation organised the meeting at the conference centre of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) ahead of National Food Safety Day that falls on February 02.
Former food minister Abdur Razzak attended the programme as the chief guest while BSAFE foundation president Mohammed Zainul Abedin chaired it.
Member of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) Mahbub Kabir, General Manager (GM) of Bangladesh Bank (BB) Manoj Kanti Bairagi and senior national advisor of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Shah Monir Hossain attended the meeting as guests of honor.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Mahbub Kabir said the country's food safety situation is in dire straits as no necessary steps have been taken for long.
"I have witnessed an alarming condition of food safety in Bangladesh in last six months since I have been assigned with the BFSA," he said.
"It's high time we, as a nation, rise up and take meaningful actions against food adulteration," he added.
Food contamination may occur through various ways, the BFSA member said adding that occurrence of intentional adulteration is much higher comparing to unintentional ones in the country.
Mentioning several impediments to food safety, he said there is a crisis of modern food tasting laboratories.
Echoing his voice, Mr Abdur Razzak said setting up of modern laboratories across the country is very important to examine food items.
"Existing laboratories of various government and non-governmental organizations need to be strengthened to help ensure food safety," he said.
The former minister also laid emphasis on empowering the BFSA with adequate human resources and other facilities similar to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the USA.
Former agriculture secretary Anwar Faruk presented keynote paper in the meeting.
Describing alarming condition of food safety issues in the country, he said anything unsafe for health cannot be termed food.
"Healthcare expense of both individual and private level has increased several times in recent years mainly due to consumption of adulterated foods," he said.
On one hand, Bangladesh has become self-reliant in food production, on the other hand, food safety issue has become a matter of great concern, he said.
He underscored the need for setting a safety standard, introducing a community certification system, creating public awareness and making more investments for ensuring food safety.
Mr Shah Monir Hossain said the people need to adopt good hygienic practice in day-to-day life to help curb risks related to food contamination.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), he said, around 200 types of diseases are directly related to food items.
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