Life-threatening chemicals in the foodstuffs
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
The consumers of the country are traditionally the victims of a section of the traders who are quite irresponsible about the quality of the goods they sell to their customers. The members of the public too are mostly unaware of their rights as consumers. As a result, the local market has become a happy ground for all the dealers in disease and death. Reports of callousness on the part of these so-called traders abound. The occasional drives launched by the government using its law-enforcement department hardly produce any result. As a result, the age-old culture of cheating and punishing the consumer public goes on with abandon.
The people are already consuming fishes, fruits, and other edibles containing hazardous contents like formalin or other kinds of harmful chemicals. Of late, another such substance called nitrofuran has been found in the freshwater prawns on sale in the market. Some irresponsible quarters are using this substance to protect the prawns grown in the farms of some southwestern districts of the country against the attack of bacteria. The export of shrimp to the overseas markets has reportedly remained suspended since January last due to a government ban imposed on it. That is because, the western buyers are very sensitive to any trace of contamination in the food they consume. On this score, they are extra-cautious about any food-related merchandise they buy from the Third World countries. In the past, they prohibited the entry of shrimps of Bangladesh origin into their markets on the ground that those contained this kind of chemicals in the consignments sent to their ports in question.
The government, therefore, took the right decision by putting a temporary ban on the export of shrimps to the overseas market, for any laxity in this respect would have entailed a still bigger loss for the frozen food industry, which thrives on its exports to the overseas markets. That in other words means that the government and all others concerned are very sensitive about such food items, if those are meant for the consumers of advanced nations. Now that most of the local consumers are not that conscious about the foods they take, or that many of them are not even aware of their rights as consumers, does not imply that anyone has the right to dump such edibles with hazardous contents on them. The unsuspecting consumers, as a result, are buying the freshwater prawns treated with nitrofuran now available in the local market. What is alarming is that there are demands for some 30,000 tons of such freshwater prawns in the local market annually. Consider the fallout of such a huge quantity of prawn containing this dangerous chemical being consumed by the local public.
The problem with this particular chemical is that its presence even in one part per billion of any foodstuff has the potential to develop cancer. That means some quarters in the fish trade are gratuitously exposing the consuming public to a potential source of cancer. Is it not an act of crime on the part of those who are responsible for marketing these nitrofuran-treated freshwater prawns in the market? What is the government doing to stop marketing of this hazardous variety of food item in the market?
Fish meals and the hatcheries are included in the list of the possible sources of nitrofuran. The government needs to mount a strong monitoring regime to check entry of this carcinogenic substance in the food chain of the fish as well as the humans. In this connection, the government has to arrange adequate facilities to test foodstuffs like fish to detect presence of hazardous chemicals before those enter the local market. At the same time, the people should be made aware of the existing laws that would enable the consumers to bring the traders responsible for deliberately selling such contaminated food items to the public to justice.
The people are already consuming fishes, fruits, and other edibles containing hazardous contents like formalin or other kinds of harmful chemicals. Of late, another such substance called nitrofuran has been found in the freshwater prawns on sale in the market. Some irresponsible quarters are using this substance to protect the prawns grown in the farms of some southwestern districts of the country against the attack of bacteria. The export of shrimp to the overseas markets has reportedly remained suspended since January last due to a government ban imposed on it. That is because, the western buyers are very sensitive to any trace of contamination in the food they consume. On this score, they are extra-cautious about any food-related merchandise they buy from the Third World countries. In the past, they prohibited the entry of shrimps of Bangladesh origin into their markets on the ground that those contained this kind of chemicals in the consignments sent to their ports in question.
The government, therefore, took the right decision by putting a temporary ban on the export of shrimps to the overseas market, for any laxity in this respect would have entailed a still bigger loss for the frozen food industry, which thrives on its exports to the overseas markets. That in other words means that the government and all others concerned are very sensitive about such food items, if those are meant for the consumers of advanced nations. Now that most of the local consumers are not that conscious about the foods they take, or that many of them are not even aware of their rights as consumers, does not imply that anyone has the right to dump such edibles with hazardous contents on them. The unsuspecting consumers, as a result, are buying the freshwater prawns treated with nitrofuran now available in the local market. What is alarming is that there are demands for some 30,000 tons of such freshwater prawns in the local market annually. Consider the fallout of such a huge quantity of prawn containing this dangerous chemical being consumed by the local public.
The problem with this particular chemical is that its presence even in one part per billion of any foodstuff has the potential to develop cancer. That means some quarters in the fish trade are gratuitously exposing the consuming public to a potential source of cancer. Is it not an act of crime on the part of those who are responsible for marketing these nitrofuran-treated freshwater prawns in the market? What is the government doing to stop marketing of this hazardous variety of food item in the market?
Fish meals and the hatcheries are included in the list of the possible sources of nitrofuran. The government needs to mount a strong monitoring regime to check entry of this carcinogenic substance in the food chain of the fish as well as the humans. In this connection, the government has to arrange adequate facilities to test foodstuffs like fish to detect presence of hazardous chemicals before those enter the local market. At the same time, the people should be made aware of the existing laws that would enable the consumers to bring the traders responsible for deliberately selling such contaminated food items to the public to justice.