Experts seek removal of food safety authority chairman

Food and health experts yesterday sought the removal of the chairman of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), a wing of the food ministry, for his alleged remarks on the use of ethofen to ripen green fruits like mango and banana before maturity. The experts’ demand came at a news conference, held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), arranged by Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA), which said the BFSA chairman’s comments on the day he took charge ran counter to the authority’s drive against the use of chemical compounds to ripen fruits.

Participating in the press meet, ABM Faruq, former head of the pharmacy department at Dhaka University, said that the use of substances like calcium carbide and ethofen to bring colour and artificially ripen fruits was harmful to public health. Unscrupulous traders followed this practice to bring the fruits to the market before natural ripening for hefty profits, he added.

Faruq also said the application of such substances only added colour to the fruits, giving then a ripened look, but deprived consumers of the food value of naturally ripened fruits. Such fruits were harmful in terms of both health and money. This observation was corroborated by foreign and local journals and various organisations, Faruq pointed out. Under the circumstances, a contrary remark by a government official went in favour of unscrupulous traders, he said. He wondered how the BFSA chairman could do so in violation of a High Court (HC) order in this regard.

Faruq said the BFSA chairman, Mahfuzul Huq, also provided unscientific and incorrect information on formalin at a time when the authorities were conducting mobile courts and drives against such malpractices. Huq had completely lost his credibility to remain as the chairman of BFSA, he added.

The expert said that legal action should be taken against Huq and asked for a thorough probe to ascertain what prompted him to make such remarks.

Taking part in the discussion, Dr Lenin Choudhury, a public health expert, observed that the BFSA chairman had lost his authority to remain at the post and should be removed.

The press meet was chaired by POBA chairman Abu Naser Khan. Former director of the food and nutrition department of BCSIR, Dr AKM Farmuzul Huq, POBA general secretary Engineer Abdus Sobhan and Cancer Society director Dr Molla Obaidullah Baqui also took part in the event.

Experts seek removal of food safety authority chairman

Food and health experts yesterday sought the removal of the chairman of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), a wing of the food ministry, for his alleged remarks on the use of ethofen to ripen green fruits like mango and banana before maturity. The experts demand came at a news conference, held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), arranged by Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA), which said the BFSA chairmans comments on the day he took charge ran counter to the authoritys drive against the use of chemical compounds to ripen fruits. Participating in the press meet, ABM Faruq, former head of the pharmacy department at Dhaka University, said that the use of substances like calcium carbide and ethofen to bring colour and artificially ripen fruits was harmful to public health. Unscrupulous traders followed this practice to bring the fruits to the market before natural ripening for hefty profits, he added. Faruq also said the application of such substances only added colour to the fruits, giving then a ripened look, but deprived consumers of the food value of naturally ripened fruits. Such fruits were harmful in terms of both health and money. This observation was corroborated by foreign and local journals and various organisations, Faruq pointed out. Under the circumstances, a contrary remark by a government official went in favour of unscrupulous traders, he said. He wondered how the BFSA chairman could do so in violation of a High Court (HC) order in this regard. Faruq said the BFSA chairman, Mahfuzul Huq, also provided unscientific and incorrect information on formalin at a time when the authorities were conducting mobile courts and drives against such malpractices. Huq had completely lost his credibility to remain as the chairman of BFSA, he added. The expert said that legal action should be taken against Huq and asked for a thorough probe to ascertain what prompted him to make such remarks. Taking part in the discussion, Dr Lenin Choudhury, a public health expert, observed that the BFSA chairman had lost his authority to remain at the post and should be removed. The press meet was chaired by POBA chairman Abu Naser Khan. Former director of the food and nutrition department of BCSIR, Dr AKM Farmuzul Huq, POBA general secretary Engineer Abdus Sobhan and Cancer Society director Dr Molla Obaidullah Baqui also took part in the event.