Letters to the editor
Food adulteration
Sir,
Adulteration of food with toxic chemicals harmful to health has reached an epidemic proportion in Bangladesh. The newspapers have dubbed it as the silent killer. It is very difficult to find a sector of food industry which is free of adulteration. From raw vegetable and fruits to milk and milk products to fish, meat and processed foodevery food item is contaminated. Almost every day in the news papers, newer and newer methods of adulterating newer and newer types of foods are reported.
Carbide, formalin, textile colours, artificial sweeteners, DDT, urea etc. are used rampantly for this purpose. Contamination of foods with toxic chemicals pose a serious threat to public health, especially in a country like Bangladesh where due to poor health literacy, level of awareness is very low.
Immediate effect of ingestion of such foods may be severe forms of diarrhoea, threatening life. In the long run, these chemicals in food adversely affect vital organs such as the liver and kidney resulting in organ failure and/or cancer and thus, untimely loss of life.
Relentless enforcement of existing laws with the execution of highest penalty possible, awareness-building campaign among consumers, promotion of ethical practices among the business community with active involvement of the business leaders, and capacity development of public health labs to test food items for adulteration on the spot are needed.
Javed Alam, Agrabad, Chittagong
