During the scorching summer heat, citizens in search of quenching their thirst, are being taken advantage of by some dishonest businesses, luring them to consume toxic ice-creams produced in shockingly unhygienic conditions.
Numerous illegal factories have sprung up in Khulna city to meet the increasing demand for ice-cream this summer.
Most of these factories are operating without any licenses or valid documents from the authorities concerned. They operate under the radar, and use cheap chemicals to make a greater profit, leaving human health, mostly of children, at serious risk.
During recent visits to several such ice-cream factories in the city, this correspondent found them producing ice-cream in a severely unhygienic environment. Some of these factories are set up in rooms measuring barely 20 to 25 square feet.
The most alarming thing is that, these factories are using popular, reputed labels like Kiranmala, Kiranmala Fulki, Ittadi, Quality Ice-cream, Cadbury, Special Chocobar, Orange, Lolli, to market their sub-standard, and even hazardous products.
These ice-creams, containing unhealthy ingredients like cube sugar, saccharin, dye, arrowroot powder, are nevertheless being presented to unsuspecting consumers in lovely packaging.
Recently, mobile courts sealed, and fined some illegal factories but their activities resumed again after some time.
Three factories in city's Azad Laundry intersection, two in Baghmara near Sonamoni School, two in Phultala, one in Gollamari Bank Colony, one in Tutpara Farid area, one in Natun Rasta, one in Daulatpur, and one in Labonchora have been producing fake ice-creams within their premises.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Ajmal Hossain said, his three-year-old son Fahim needed to be admitted to the Khulna Shishu Hospital. "Fahim was having stomach problems, and was vomiting severely. He had ice-creams, chocolate, and juice from shops before."
The ice-creams contain harmful ingredients. The administration should take steps against these factories which are making unhygienic ice-creams, he added.
Sheikh Khokon, owner of New Iva Ice Bar in Gollamari, said: "A mobile court had closed down my factory, and fined me Tk12,000 a few days ago."
Only a few ice-cream factories are running legally in the city. Factories without legal papers or license use detrimental and harmful ingredients in unhygienic, and dirty environment, he said.
Dr Kamruzzaman, director of Khulna Shishu Hospital said: “Children should not be fed substandard ice-cream, juice, chips, or chocolates, containing harmful chemicals. These products have detrimental health effects on little children.”
Khulna Civil Surgeon ASM Abdur Razzak said: "Ice-creams produced using harmful chemicals in a dirty environment have a severe health risk. If consumed, it damages children's bone, liver, kidney, and lead to blood cancer."
Moreover, it has a huge negative effect on the mental development of children, he added.
Md Abdul Mannan, director of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) in Khulna, said businesses must be approved from BSTI in order to run. Actions have been taken against illegal factories.
Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, Assistant Director Sikder Shahinur Alam said they were conducting regular inspections, and raids.
“Most of the ice-cream factories in Khulna lack BSTI or Environment Department's license, and they use harmful colours, flavours, unlabeled packets, forged labels, and we have already shut three of them down, and fined several in recent drives.”
District Additional Magistrate Md Yusuf Ali said: "Mobile courts are continuing to conduct drives. We are taking immediate steps once we get specific complaints."