Stop formalin use: Raushan to Hasina

Opposition Leader Raushan Ershad has asked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to take effective measures to stop the use of formalin in food. ‘Stop the use of this poison if you are truly the daughter of Bangabandhu,’ she said during a discussion in the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) on the proposed budget. ‘It is your (Hasina’s) responsibility,’ Raushan said recommending harsh punishment for food adulteration. She wondered why those mixing formalin in fruits were not punished. ‘The crime will go on if it is not punished,’ the Jatiya Party (JP) leader said. Formalin is usually used in laboratories, hospitals, tanneries, textiles and hatcheries. But it is being widely used in perishable food stuff to make them appear fresh with harmful effects on the human body, said Raushan, the wife of former president and JP chief HM Ershad. She recalled Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman passing an Act to prevent food adulteration in 1974 with provisions for even capital punishment for the offence. ‘Where’s that law now? If he (Bangabandhu) could think about it, why can’t you?’ the former first lady asked, according to bdnews24.com.