Stop intentional or unintentional food adulteration

Millers in Rangpur have reportedly been using urea, this time to polish rice whiter than normal, to fetch a better price. It is unbelievable that these offenders are still unaware of the toxic effects of residual urea on the health of consumers. After all, there has been enough media focus on its earlier use in 'muri'. Many shops and factories have been raided and the unscrupulous or ignorant traders duly penalized for offences including not only use of urea, but sale of poor quality food stuffs, such as stale or rotten items, date-expired imported goods, use of questionable substances to lend color or crispiness to edibles, and the like. Therefore, one would have expected people to be more conscious by now.

Besides raising awareness among consumers, it did have a discernable deterrent effect on would-be food poisoners, as can be seen by the claims made on packets of 'quality muri'. This consciousness can spread countrywide if the awareness building exercise becomes a round-the-year activity, so that food standards can be maintained by all - seller, buyer and law enforcer. But for unknown reasons, the mobile court ordinance, proclaimed during the caretaker regime specifically to contain food-related felony, was thrown out by the current elected government.

No effective state mechanism is yet in place to ensure that the quality of all kinds of edibles in the market is safe. But if the will is there the Consumer Protection Law could very well be used to advantage, provided the Bangladesh Consumer Protection Society is consistently alert and does everything possible to make the end users aware of the hazards lurking in edibles ----- both ready-to-eat and raw. The power of citizens' groups could be mobilized and marshaled to deter small fry as well as the big guys involved in importing questionable commodities in the name of food and beverages. But awareness about these hazards at all levels ----- at policy-making, traders, as well as ordinary consumer levels ---- is seriously missing.

For example, monosodium glutamate, or tasting salt, as it is commonly known, is imported and used extensively in Bangladesh, by both high end and low-end caterers, as a food-enhancing additive, unaware that it is a potent neurotoxin and has been banned in many enlightened countries in the world. Sodium cyclamate is another harmful substance (banned abroad) but advertised and sold here as being 'a hundred times sweeter than sugar.' A variety of so-called sweeteners for diabetics and 'diet' addicts, are widely used, such as aspartame and nutrasweet, which are known to be very hamful. But these are being consumed without question, as are so-called energy drinks which are reportedly laced with addictive chemicals.

There is no alternative to educating and mobilizing the end consumers against the marketing of harmful substances like these in the name of food, drink and medicines. In addition sustained monitoring is needed in the case of essential food items such as grain, cooking oil and sugar, so that they are not spoilt in storage. Moldy grain has been identified as a factor in the high incidence of liver cirrhosis among Bangladesh's poor. There have often been reports of grams, wheat flour, biscuits, bread and other food item smelling strongly of insecticides which may be due to the indiscriminate use of mosquito repellents inside the shops. Food inspectors ought to address this hazardous practice as well, as ingestion of such insecticides have been linked to leukemia.