This year, since March, there has been a steady stream of reports both in the print and the electronic media of the use of toxic chemicals in food items, particularly fish and fruits. There have also been reports of drives carried out by executive magistrates and representatives from law-enforcement agencies who have tried to determine whether any item has been tainted with external chemical agents. After examination and required chemical analysis, some of the food items were seized and subsequently destroyed. Business persons associated in the selling of these products were fined.
This effort to stop the sale of polluted items has included drives to identify production points for such items. These measures revealed that in some parts of Dhaka, some entrepreneurs were involved in manufacturing false brands of pharmaceutical products, adulterated sweets and fake cosmetic items. The law-enforcement agencies seized these products, destroyed them, closed down the manufacturing points - and in some cases fined and arrested the perpetrators.
It would be useful at this point to explain that formalin is a 37 per cent water solution of formaldehyde. It is a toxic disinfectant which can cause cancer-related illness and other chronic diseases such as liver cirrhosis or kidney failure from prolonged consumption. Traders mostly use this chemical as a preservative and to ensure that fruits or fish retain their fresh look for longer periods of time.
One is really troubled with this erosion of values within us. These actions have denoted not only total disregard of health requirements of our fellow citizens but also sheer greed. It is clear that such deterioration could have only taken place because of corrupt practices among the relevant inspectors of different departments charged with the responsibility of protecting public safety of health. It has underlined the fact that our public representatives are not paying sufficient attention to what is going on in their respective constituencies. Some have even suggested that they deliberately turn a blind eye to such problems because they rely on the services of such perpetrators in obtaining political support.
Everyone remembers special aspects of their childhood - be it an event or incidents that led to enjoyment within the entire family. In my case, I remember how everyone within our extended family waited for summer - the months of May, June and July - and the arrival of litchis, blackberries and mangoes. During that time everyone carefully monitored how the weather was shaping up in north-western Bangladesh - in Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj and Dinajpur in particular. There was a parade that started with luscious red litchis followed by different varieties of mangoes - 'Bombai', 'Himshagor', 'Langra' and 'Fajli'. Their presence at different times were accompanied with stories of how different types of mangoes (particularly 'Alfonso') were favourite items in the diet of Queen Victoria and how each year they were specially transported by ship from India to the Royal Court in London. Later on, in end-July and August one looked forward to 'Amshotto' (dried juice of ripe mangoes). This exercise, these expectations, over the decades became part of our culinary cultural heritage.
Unfortunately, this year, this whole process of expectation has been affected by the inordinate greed and lack of morality among producers and traders in summer fruits in this country. We have looked at the litchis, mangoes and blackberries produced locally and admired them only from the distance. We have been careful to prevent our children and grandchildren from eating them. It has been the same with papaya and also with watermelons and bananas. I do not know when our conscience will come to the fore and help us to overcome this dire situation. I am worried even more given the fact that we are going to start our month of Ramadan and the religious ritual of fasting. This anxiety stems from the fact that it is a custom to break your fast and take your 'Iftar' with dates or a slice or two of fruits. What does one do in such a situation?
The government in its own way has been trying to take remedial measures. The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs have been trying to ensure that necessary legislation is adopted to prevent use of formalin. On November 04, 2013, the Cabinet approved in principle the draft Formalin Control Act 2013 in order to control the misuse of the chemical substance formalin. This was consistent with Ministry of Commerce's official gazette notification of March 14, 2013. This notification points out that importers of this substance must have prior permission from the Ministry of Commerce for importing formalin and that importers must maintain a register which will include particulars of all the buyers of this chemical. This effort on the part of the Ministry of Commerce has been supported by the FBCCI (Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and some private commercial banks. One can only hope that the Cabinet-approved draft on use of formalin will soon be passed in our Parliament. It will be a valuable addition to other existing regulations and laws related to this area - The Bangladesh Pure Food (Amended) Act 2005, Mobile Court Ordinance 2009, Consumers Rights Conservation Act 2009, Essential Items Control Act 1956 and the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995.
It may be noted here that in addition to the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Fisheries and Livestock, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), City Corporations, Municipa-lities and Union Parishads are directly involved in guaranteeing safety within the paradigm of food production and its storage. They have to work together in a coordinated manner to ensure that the safety regarding health is ensured for the consumers. It is disappointing but true that this necessary coordination among the various agencies is not taking place up to expectation.
The on-going drive against food adulteration and the use of formalin that started on June 11 has been furiously protested by not only the fruit vendors but also the fruit growers. They have been joined in this regard by some chemists, bio-chemists and chemical engineers, all supporters of the Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Consumers Association (BFFCA). They have questioned the scientific standards of the current anti-formalin drive. They have also claimed that the device being used to ascertain the presence of formalin in food (Z-300) is an instrument to measure concentration of chemicals or gases in the air, not in food items. This view has been supported by the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) and the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council. They have claimed that only sample test in laboratories was the appropriate and acceptable process to assess the existence of formalin in food items. The fruit traders, both wholesalers and retailers, belonging to the Dhaka Metropolitan Fruits Import-Export and Merchants Multiple Cooperative Society held protest meetings. The termed the drive an unnecessary harassment and demanded that it be stopped immediately. Professionals and experts, belonging to the Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN), Primary Health Care (PHC) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), have expressed their serious concern about the panic that has been created this year through the drive undertaken by the law-enforcement authorities and also the wayward irresponsible behaviour of the trading community.
The print media, while highlighting discovery of formalin-tainted produce in different parts of the country and their eventual destruction, have also printed pictures of formalin and other chemicals being sprayed on fruits on the ground as well as in the trees. They have shown pictures of containers of formalin seized by law-enforcement authorities in the Chankharpool area of the capital. They, however, wrote editorials to draw attention to the fact that this effort to determine whether fruits or produce being carried into Dhaka by trucks are contaminated or not is creating serious traffic jams and hampering movement of other goods meant for export or associated with the export sector. Apparently, serious delay was caused on June 11 through the stopping and checking of 1,925 trucks though it was eventually discovered that only 208 of the vehicles were carrying fruits and other food items to the capital.
Nevertheless, I believe that any difficulty that may be created by the anti-adulteration and anti-formalin drive needs to be borne with patience. We all have to understand that everyone must work together with proper equipment to ensure that innocent consumers do not continue to fall victim to the inordinate greed of the traders.
We need to focus on primary rural areas from where the edible items are procured and also where they are sold on a wholesale basis (for example, Karwan Bazar or Badamtoli markets in Dhaka). We need to examine the produce carefully through both available scientific equipments and in laboratories. Those found guilty should be imprisoned and their assets seized.
Muhammad Zamir, a former Ambassador, is specialised in foreign affairs, right to information and good governance.
mzamir@dhaka.net
Combating use of toxic substances in food
Muhammad Zamir | Published: June 30, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
A check-post erected by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police during anti-formalin drive.
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