Food Adulteration (Bangladesh Perspective)

Food adulteration is one of the biggest problems of our nation and it's a heinous crime which creates a big threat to our existence. In layman term, food adulteration means adding an element to a food item which does not have any food values and which will reduce the value of the food and poses threats to the human body. Nowadays we can hardly purchase any food item from the market which is not adulterated in one way or another. Although sometimes adulteration causes accidentally but most of the times it is intentional. Even though food adulteration has been occurring from a long time by the dishonest businessmen and sellers, but now the problem has spread in epidemic form. From a long time, dishonest businesspersons have formed a syndicate and mixe chemical, color and other substance to increase more profit. Consuming adulterated food items are fatal for health. Absorbing them can cause stomach problem, kidney and liver diseases, and even cancer. Besides as the adulterated food lacks in food values, consuming them also creates malnutrition. Recently it has been found that the milk and dairy products that are supplied in the capital are highly contaminated. The high court has ordered to find the responsible companies and person behind it and punish them. Nowadays the city dwellers cannot buy any fruits or vegetables from the market without having the fear that how poisonous are they. It seems people are buying poison in the disguise of food with their own money and consuming them. Most of the hotel and restaurants also sell unhealthy food items they use burnt Mobil instead of edible oil, serves rotten meats and vegetables, keeps frozen items in normal temperature which they are supposed to keep in cold storage or refrigerator. The recent raids from the concerned authorities have shown that even the famous brands, restaurants and hotels are also not safe. Taking them for the long term can create different curable and noncurable diseases. So it can be undoubtedly said that if the problem of food adulteration cannot be solved immediately, our whole nation will face a serious threat regarding national health. However, it's news of relief that our government and general people are now more concerned about the issue than ever before. Our prime minister has declared a war against food adulteration. Recently BSTI (Bangladesh Standard Testing Institute) has banned 52 food items from the market that has been found substandard by them. Among them, there are Ghees (Butter oil), Noodles, Salt, Oil, Sweet and some other food items of some famous brands. It is high time to take necessary steps against the dishonest person behind this disgusting crime and give them the deserved punishment. We all should stand together to banish the problem from the root.