The government has undertaken a move to prevent the high-valued betel leaf from salmonella infection by undertaking a project for the removal of the bacteria known to cause stomach disorders.
Having already been caught secretly shipping salmonella infected betel leaf, Bangladesh’s $200m vegetable export is hit hard by a fresh blow after the European Union detected insects in kakrol and brinjal consignments.
Only in January, the EU warned Bangladesh that if proper guidelines were not followed then it would discontinue the import.
EU had prohibited the export of the highly demanded betel leaf from Bangladesh during the last year after detecting the presence of salmonella bacteria.
To regain the potential European market, commerce ministry has recently initiated a project titled “Short term project for the removal of salmonella from exportable high-valued betel leaf in Bangladesh.”
The project will be supervised by a professor of Bangladesh Agriculture University in Mymensingh, said a senior official of commerce ministry.
According to the officials, the project, which aims at identifying the root causes and the preventions of Salmonella bacteria from betel leaf and suitable production land and locations, will be formally launched today through a power-point presentation at the Export Promotion Bureau.
The salmonella bacteria , which is a severe health hazardous bacteria, usually enters into the human body , causing diseases like gastric, ulcer, and damage the immunity system of a human body, said an official.
According to another official, the height of the human body, especially the woman, is getting lower just because of the infection by salmonella bacteria.
It is an alarming situation prevailing in the country as one fourth of the total population are at risk as they are habituated to eat betel leaf, the official added.
“Some unscrupulous traders have been harming our business... Unless we follow the EU guidelines, our export may be hampered badly,” Monjurul Islam, an adviser to the Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetable and Allied Products Exporters Association, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Dr Bahanur Rahman, professor of the department of the Microbiology and Hygiene of Bangladesh Agriculture University said: We should be as worried as like as the authorities of the European Union countries because Salmonella bacteria is not only hampering our betel leaf and vegetable export in terms of monetary loss, but also directing affecting the largest population of the country.
The EU member countries, one of the largest vegetable markets of Bangladesh, stopped more than a hundred shipments between July last year and May this year.
Last month, the quarantine section of the Plant Protection Wing of the Department of Agricultural Extension of Bangladesh government, certified that several consignments of spine – locally known as kakrol– contained no pest.
