Food safety and environmental protection are inseparable pillars of sustainable development. A nation cannot claim genuine progress while its citizens are exposed to contaminated food and its natural environment continues to deteriorate.
Unfortunately, Bangladesh faces serious challenges in both areas, demanding stronger governance, institutional accountability, and unwavering political commitment.
Reports concerning food contamination have raised widespread public concern. Laboratory findings reportedly conducted by Professor Dr Abul Hossain of the Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka, indicated elevated levels of chromium in broiler chicken meat, liver, brain, and commercial eggs. These findings have been attributed to the alleged use of chromium-contaminated tannery waste in poultry and fish feed, despite reported judicial restrictions on such practices.
Concerns have also been expressed regarding arsenic and other hazardous substances in farmed fish. If confirmed through independent scientific investigation, such contamination poses a serious threat to public health and demands immediate regulatory action.
When I joined the Bangladesh civil service, food adulteration was comparatively rare. Consumers generally had greater confidence in the quality of food, and ethical business practices were more widely respected.
Today, however, food adulteration has become a significant public health concern. Yet this problem is neither inevitable nor impossible to solve. It requires honest leadership, effective law enforcement, public awareness, and accountability at every level.
During my tenure as a Deputy Commissioner, I personally led campaigns against food adulteration, particularly during Ramadan, when the use of unauthorized colours and harmful chemical additives in iftar items was frequently reported. Regular mobile courts, market inspections, and coordinated enforcement by executive magistrates and law enforcement agencies significantly improved compliance.
Although some business leaders initially questioned these measures, I asked one of them a simple question: “Would you like your own children to consume adulterated food?” His answer was an immediate “No.”
That response reflected a universal truth -- every parent wants safe food for their family. Protecting public health should therefore unite, rather than divide, regulators and the business community.
Bangladesh also needs stronger environmental governance. Over the years, substantial public resources and international assistance have been invested in forestry, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation projects. While many initiatives have contributed positively, questions have also been raised regarding the effectiveness and transparency of certain projects.
Public investment should always be measured by tangible environmental outcomes -- such as increased forest cover, biodiversity conservation, pollution reduction, and climate resilience -- rather than by expenditure alone. Whenever credible allegations of irregularities arise, they should be investigated independently and impartially to strengthen public confidence.
The same principle applies to institutions responsible for environmental regulation and food safety. Their success should be judged by measurable improvements in environmental quality and consumer protection, not merely by administrative reports or completed projects. Strong institutions require transparency, professional competence, and accountability.
Although Bangladesh has enacted important legislation, including the Safe Food Act 2013, effective implementation remains the greatest challenge to its success.
Regulatory agencies must strengthen laboratory testing, surveillance, market inspections, and enforcement across the entire food supply chain. Equally important, officials who fail to discharge their statutory responsibilities through negligence or wilful inaction should, where legally appropriate, be held accountable.
Environmental crimes and deliberate food adulteration should not be treated as ordinary regulatory violations. They threaten human health, damage biodiversity, increase healthcare costs, and undermine sustainable development.
Consideration should therefore be given to strengthening penalties for serious offences, ensuring swift prosecution, and enhancing judicial capacity to deal with crimes that endanger public health and the environment.
Public awareness is equally essential. Governments, educational institutions, businesses, civil society, religious leaders, and the media all have a shared responsibility to promote a culture that values environmental stewardship and rejects food adulteration.
Sustainable progress cannot be achieved through laws alone; it depends on ethics, integrity, and collective responsibility.
Bangladesh has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to overcome major national challenges. There is every reason to believe that the country can also become a regional leader in food safety and environmental protection.
Achieving this goal, however, requires a genuine policy of zero tolerance toward food adulteration and environmental crimes, supported by strong institutions, transparent governance, scientific evidence, and the consistent application of the rule of law.
Protecting the environment and ensuring safe food are not merely administrative obligations -- they are moral responsibilities owed to every citizen.
Mizanul Hoque Chowdhury is a former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bangladesh.
