Mobile courts to enforce safe food act from Feb 1

FE Report | Published: January 30, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

The government decided on Thursday to deploy mobile courts to strictly enforce the Safe Food Act, 2013 from February 1, 2015.
"There will be mobile courts to enforce the Safe Food Act, 2013," Food Minister Advocate Qamrul Islam told the media at a press briefing at Bangladesh Secretariat.
Earlier on January 26 the Ministry of Food (MoF) issued a gazette notification on the Act.
Under the law anyone may be jailed for maximum five years or fined up to Tk 2.0 million for adulteration of food.
Mr Islam said the existing outmoded Safe Food Ordinance 1959 would stand abolished, once the law comes into effect next Sunday.
But any lawsuits, appeals and unresolved matters filed under the existing ordinance would proceed uninterrupted.
Under the ordinance 'Pure Food Court' is now in existence for trying food-related offences.
Under the existing ordinance none could file directly any case against unsafe food producers and sellers. But the new law (The Safe Food Act 2013) empowers anyone to file such a case to Pure Food Court within 30 days from the date of the causes arise.
The law has the provision for meeting out jail sentences for 23 categories of food offences, ranging from one year to five years, or fining the offender Tk 0.4 million to Tk 2.0 million.
The food minister said the government had enacted the law after reviewing the laws that exist in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The MoF has already completed Safe Food Guidelines 2014.
There will be a strong Safe Food Management Coordination Committee, headed by the chairman of Safe Food Authority. The 28-member committee will coordinate among the ministries and departments involved with the safe food issue.
To strictly enforce the law the government has already formed a Safe Food Authority that will coordinate with other ministries and divisions involved with safe-food matters.
The government has already appointed a member-secretary and three members to the authority. And the chairman of the authority will be appointed next week.
Besides, there will be a National Safe Food Management Advisory Council under the leadership of the food minister to supervise the application of the law, crucial for saving people's life from serious hazards caused by food faking.
Food safety has become a burning issue in Bangladesh, as unbridled food adulteration and use of toxic chemicals by crooked traders to preserve fruits, vegetables and fishes have put public health in jeopardy.
Various types of toxic chemicals are reportedly being used in all kinds of food items to ripen them or keep them fresh.
This mindless mischief is being likened to 'slow-poisoning' people. Deadly diseases are caused mainly due to taking substandard and chemicals-laced food.
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