‘Monitor production to ensure food safety’

Monitoring should be done from the very beginning of food production to ensure food safety, a panel of speakers said at a discussion on Sunday. 

Food adulteration has become a common practice in Bangladesh even though production is adequate and it is high time we ensured food safety, they said. 

The panel was addressing a seminar organised marking the National Food Safety Day 2020 at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh auditorium in the capital. 

The Bangladesh Food Safety Authority observed this year's food safety day under the theme "Shobai Mile Haat Melai, Nirapad Khaddo Nishchit Chai" (Let us work hand in hand, we want to ensure food safety).

The speakers said how insecticides are used and when crops are harvested after using pesticides should be monitored. 

Whether the factory environment is responsible for food adulteration should also be monitored, they said. 

"Those involved in food adulteration themselves can be the victims of contamination too," said Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder.

He said, "These people produce one or two products. However, they buy 15-16 products and they will also be affected if those products are adulterated. So, food producers have to be careful."

"We have to provide safe fodder for cows if we want safe milk from them. We also have to ensure that milk is not contaminated on its way to consumers," added Sadhan.

He said many large companies producing juice, biscuit and other food items do not want to recruit food engineers as these professionals have to be paid a high salary. 

"The companies recruit low-paid employees, train them and get the work done in name only. This situation should be improved," the minister pointed out.  

The state minister for fisheries and livestock, Md Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru, said, "It is not possible to ensure safety at the final stage if we cannot do it during production."

"The incidence of kidney and other diseases including cancer has increased recently only because of food adulteration," said Food Secretary Dr Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum.