For over a month, newspapers around the country have been publishing reports of widespread adulteration of food. On May 26, the Dhaka Tribune carried a report saying that findings from tests at the Public Health Laboratory (PHL) over the past two years had shown that over 46% of the food items that were available in the market were adulterated, and around 80-99% of other popular items in the market, including ghee, juice, honey, sweets, candy, soybean oil, and powdered milk were found to have been contaminated with harmful chemicals.
Quoting an FAO-sponsored test carried out at a government laboratory – the National Food Safety Laboratory – The Daily Star reported on April 28 that 40% of the 82 food samples tested in the lab contained banned pesticides and toxic substances beyond permissible limits. The banned pesticides included DDT, Aldrin, Chlordane, and Heptachlor – substances extremely harmful to the human body.
Carrots, beans, tomatoes, lettuce, capsicum, bananas, apples, pineapples, and mangoes were contaminated with these highly toxic pesticides. Food adulteration has reached new heights. Hardly any category of food is available unadulterated. This may give rise to the question of whether we have any laws towards checking the adulteration of food items to begin with.
The answer is that there is no dearth of laws in the country which deals with the food adulteration menace. The most relevant laws are: Special Powers Act 1974, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution Ordinance (BSTI) 1985, The Consumer Rights Protection Act 2009, and Pure Food Act 2013. Of all these laws, the Pure Food Act (PFA) 2013, which replaces the Pure Food Ordinance (PFO) 1959, amended up to 2005, is the latest and most comprehensive one. It gives an elaborate definition of food and prohibits the mixing of chemicals such as formalin, calcium carbide, sodium cyclamate, and other substances which are harmful to human health.
It prescribes the responsibilities of the businessmen dealing with food. It has a provision for the set-up of a unified authority, the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), to fight food adulteration and take care of other food-related concerns of consumers. It also provides for the formation of a National Pure Food Management Advisory Council, headed by the food minister and comprised of members from various ministries and government, private, and academic organisations.
PFA 2013 calls for either a sentence of seven years’ imprisonment or a fine of Tk1m, or both, for including life-threatening chemicals in foods. It also describes that for repeat offenders, the punishment would double. It provides for the formation of as many food courts as deemed necessary to prosecute adulterators. The Special Powers Act of 1974 asks for the death penalty as the maximum punishment for the offence.
BSTI Ordinance 1985 and its rules relate to the testing and quality control of certain industrial and commercial products, including food and drinks. The Consumer Rights Protection Act 2009 prescribes punishment of a maximum of either three years’ imprisonment, or a maximum fine of Tk200,000, or both, for adulterating foods.
Additionally, the higher courts have ordered relevant government departments and agencies to check for adulteration of different varieties of food more than once, and take action against the adulterators. In 2010 and 2012, the High Court (HC) ordered the police to file cases against food adulterators under the Special Powers Act 1974. In 2012, on a writ petition filed by the FBCCI, the HC also ordered the government to stop the import of food items contaminated with formalin and calcium carbide.
On April 29, the HC ordered authorities concerned to inform it within 20 days from the date of receipt of the order about the measures taken to stop the use of hazardous chemicals and preservatives in food items by a section of unscrupulous businessmen and farmers.
The question may now be raised as to why the markets continue to be flooded with adulterated food items in spite of the existence of the aforesaid food laws and the directives issued by the HC. The answers are not that far to seek out.
First, the lack of strong political will has been the biggest hurdle in the implementation of food laws. Adulterators are very powerful individuals. Many of them are members of big political parties, ones which have been ruling the country for the last two decades or so. Others maintain liaison with the party in power. Political consideration has thus dissuaded successive party governments from taking tough actions against the bigger adulterators.
Second, a number of ministries and agencies have so far been responsible for the production, supply, and marketing of pure foods for human consumption. The lack of coordination among these ministries and agencies has been an important factor for the food laws not being implemented. Although the PFA 2013 has a provision for establishing a unified authority – the BFSA – to fight food adulteration and take care of other food related concerns of consumers, it has yet to come into effect even 8 months after the enactment of the act.
Third, the lack of well-equipped laboratories, both in terms of equipment and trained manpower, has stood in the way of the implementation of food laws.
Fourth, the mobile court approach has largely failed to deliver the desired results. This is because the mobile courts suffer from a shortage of necessary specialists and equipment to deal with the adulterators’ newer techniques of avoiding detection and accountability.
Fifth, the government has failed to establish food courts as per provision of the amended PFO. The amendment made to the PFO in 2005 provided for the establishment of food court in each district and metropolitan area. The PFA that replaces the PFO has also a provision for the formation of as many food courts as deemed necessary to prosecute food adulterators. But the government has yet to become serious on this issue.
Sixth, a lack of public awareness about the hazardous effects of consuming adulterated foods, and their willingness to buy different varieties of adulterated food and foodstuff, have encouraged unscrupulous traders to market adulterated food items.
Adulteration of food affects people of all strata in our society. It does not discriminate between rich and poor, or between the high-ups in the government and common people. It is a national threat. Implementation of food laws and compliance with the HC directives will help ensure people’s access to safe food to a considerable extent.
