Campaign groups held a human chain outside the Jatiya Press Club this week to protest the scourge of rampant food adulteration in the country.
Random tests carried out by the Institute of Public Health in different markets last month found that around 50% of vegetables and 35% of fruits were contaminated with unsafe level of pesticides.
The traders who attacked a mobile court at Mohammadpur Town Hall Kitchen Market, for taking action against formalin found in fish, should heed the bigger picture. It is not in the interest of anyone, including traders, for the marketplace to be tainted by contaminated food.
Consumers are entitled to expect all food products in every marketplace to be safe and for authorities to take all necessary action on their behalf.
The government needs to take speedier action to stamp out the most rampant abuses. Poultry industry association leaders have, for instance, repeatedly urged the shutdown of factories that have been producing toxic feed using tannery waste, and this would be a good place to start.
It should go further, however, and recognise that consumer concerns extend beyond simply deliberately adulterated food.
High levels of pollution across the country have wreaked havoc with many supply chains. Fish resources in the Sunderbans have been placed at high risk by the practice of fishermen using pesticides to catch fish, while ashes from brick kilns that have been illegally set up near farmlands have caused huge damage to crops.
Comprehensive action is needed across all parts of the supply chain to ensure that food is kept safe and free from contaminants.
