Eliminating threat to safe foods

The day the High Court issued directives, binding as it is on the government, to bring an end to the malpractice of chemical treatment of fruits, a factory producing spurious ghee (clarified butter) at the city's Begumbazar was unearthed by a mobile court. Only a few days ago, a cosmetic factory at Malitola producing look-alike foreign brands was also found in a similar drive. Yet another illegal set-up producing spurious medicine in old Dhaka was uncovered. The list may not be long but surely the impression is that there is an all-round attempt by certain maleficent quarters to poison the entire nation.  
In their race for making money, they can go to any length no matter if their questionable products or actions put consumers at serious health  and other risks. A contemporary carried a pictorial story on Tuesday on poultry feed made from rejected hides at tanneries. The chromium residue in the feed enters human body through the food chain causing diseases like cancer and liver cirrhosis among others. On the day the ghee production unit was unearthed, another Rapid Action Battalion team held two people with a large amount of fake currency notes.
The spurt of all such phoney businesses ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival gives a clear indication that the idea behind the attempt was to make the most of the festival bonanza. Mobile courts have conducted raids in different parts of the city and the results are quite alarming. Who knows how many such illegal manufacturing ventures are clandestinely active all across the country! Business can thrive on honest practices but unfortunately, in this country the tendency is to cheat consumers in as many ways as it is possible. Cheating in prices and qualities of commodities go on unabated.
Even such business malpractices pale before what are now going on. When life-saving and therapeutic drugs are copied with powder and gel to give those a look of the original, this is no longer confined to just violation of business ethics. It is a serious crime. Similarly, when fruits, fish or similar other food items are treated with highly toxic chemicals either for ripening or preserving, it is nothing less grave than mass poisoning. The difference is that direct poisoning kills the victims instantly and here the process is slow but sure. Today's high incidence of cancer, liver and heart diseases is not an isolated development.
The HC has issued directives aimed at stopping abuse of chemicals in the case of marketing fruits -both locally produced and imported. Its directives, if complied with, will take care of imported fruits both at the land and seas ports, where they land first, before they are marketed. Similarly, the mango orchards will be brought under law enforcement agencies' vigilance and most importantly enough kits will have to be made available for monitoring of markets by surveillance committees. All the authorities will have to be notified about the legal actions to be taken. Above everything though, the HC has stipulated six months' time for preparing guidelines to be followed for bringing an end to the ripening and preserving agents.
The HC directives concerns fruits only. But the bad blood vitiating the business environment in the country is what needs to be dealt with severely. For example, when the country has requirement for only 100 tonnes of formalin, why are 800 tonnes imported? The new law on food adulteration has sought to curb the import of formalin. No one other than the licensed businessmen will be able to import sell, or handle the preserving agent. The inclusion of death penalty for chemical abuse in food is certainly a powerful deterrent. But the important thing is the enforcement of the law.
People engaged in production of fake cosmetics, spurious medicines and harmful poultry feed and many such items posing risks to public health can be awarded punishment under the food act. To ensure foolproof safety of food whatever is needed should be done. Because at stake is nothing less than the nation's physical and mental health. Today, people are worried over purchase of any food. There is no guarantee that the foreign brands are genuine. The containers of shampoos, deodorant, cream and after-shave lotion land at illegal factories where they are refilled with the spurious contents. Better it would be to break or disfigure the containers before they are disposed of. Similarly the containers of ghee or oil can be made unusable.
The underground business operation will however be non-existent if a mass awareness of the harmful effects of chemical treatment and adulteration can be created. People need to know that there is no wealth that can match sound health. It is a responsibility of every citizen to work towards maintaining good health of the nation. If they can realise that it is a national disgrace to undermine its ethical standard and the quality of life, they will defend the issue of safe food. As a nation, the Bangalees have come a long way off despite the many odds it had to overcome from within and outside. Had the nation maintained a business ethics of the highest order, chances were that more and more people would have excelled on the world stage. There are already a number of them who have made it happen at the top. So it is incumbent on today's leadership as well as on every member of society to embark on a mission for eliminating any threat to safe food for all.         
nilratan [email protected]