Toxic poultry feed still on sale

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Khalilur Rahman In view of widespread adulteration of food the government has planned to set up a single agency, Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), to check the menace. A decision to this effect was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting held in the cabinet division last week, as appeared in the press. Food Minister Abdur Razzaque presided over the meeting. Briefing journalists after the meeting the food minister said that the proposed BFSA will be formed by amending the Pure Food Ordinance, 1959. The draft amendment to the Ordinance was discussed at the meeting and the participants suggested a provision of ten years' jail term and fine of more than taka half a million for food adulterators. Under the existing laws, there is a provision for jail terms from two to three years and fines between taka ten thousand and taka fifty thousand for adulteration of food. Due to lack of coordination among various ministries and organisations, such as ministry of health and family welfare, local government, fisheries and livestock, agriculture and commerce and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), adulteration of food could not be contained. The food minister himself admitted to the media that people hardly get any benefit as those agencies have been functioning separately without coordination. The food minister also announced that the relevant authorities, now engaged in checking food adulteration, will be placed under a single authority. He disclosed that a draft of the proposed law is being prepared in consultation with all concerned. The consumers should wait for sometime to see how the proposed BFSA work in checking food adulteration in future. But at present the public health is exposed to serious hazards due to excessive use of chemicals like formalin, calcium carbide, pesticides and artificial growth regulators in a large variety of food items including fruits, vegetables and fish. The consumers have been asking the authorities to put an end to this evil practice but to no effect. In a recent development, owners of a large number of factories producing poultry and fish feed with toxic tannery wastes have shifted their units to distant places across the river Buriganga. According to a press report, the producers of poultry and fish feed have clearly violated a High Court (HC) order issued about two years ago prohibiting use of tannery wastes. The Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) in a test conducted earlier had found existence of heavy metals in poultry and fish feed. The feed is prepared with solid tannery wastes. The BCSIR also found lead in poultry feed at harmful levels. About two dozens of chemicals are applied to process leather. The tannery wastes used for producing poultry and fish feed, therefore, turn into toxic substance. On July 11, 2011 the High Court in a verdict asked the government to stop the use of tannery wastes in producing poultry and fish feed within a month. The High Court had also directed the government to close down all those factories engaged in such practice. According to a report, a large number of traders in Hazaribagh area in the city supply tannery wastes to about two dozens of factories now producing poultry and fish feed across the country. The adulteration is not confined to poultry and fish feed alone. A private TV channel in a video footage aired a few days ago showed how milk is being adulterated in a large number of villages in Sirajganj district. The local dairy owners were found liberally mixing chemicals to prepare Ghee and liquid milk. They take their products to big 'arathdars' (wholesalers) at different points for sale. The 'arathdars arrange supply of adulterated liquid milk and milk products to other districts. The formation of a single authority to check food adulteration is, indeed, a good step. But our experience with government actions in the past is far from satisfactory. It may be mentioned that the Pure Food Ordinance amended in 2005 has so far served very little purpose. Under the amended ordinance, the local government ministry was assigned to check food adulteration. But the ministry has expressed its inability to accomplish the task properly for lack of manpower and heavy work loads. We hope the proposed BFSA will be able to ensure safe food and protect public health by close monitoring of all the food items from production to marketing levels. (Email: khalilbdh@gmail.com)