Prevent adulteration of milk, cattle feed

We welcome the move by the high court which ordered the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, BFSA, to submit a detailed report on those responsible for adulterated milk, cattle fodder and other dairy products.

The move comes at a time when Bangladesh is trying to project herself to the world as a country moving towards middle income status. But mid income position is not just about steady economic growth but also about improvement in all areas of life.

Food adulteration is a constant headache in warm countries; this year, with the mercury already reaching the top, food items can swiftly become stale and without proper safety precautions can end up creating a health crisis. On the other hand, fresh milk can also be contaminated if it’s found to contain antibiotics – a medicine which is used indiscriminately in cow fodder. Meat products are also found to be containing antibiotics since cows and all other animals are given medicine without proper monitoring.

Consequently, meat and milk become tainted with the medicine, posing serious health hazards to adults and children.  For some time, fattening the cow was the main motive because the ultimate objective was to sell the animal or cut it for meat. In this competition to get the most, little attention was given to control the usage of medicines. Now we have raw cow’s milk which has antibiotic and other harmful substances. Once these items are consumed, people develop immunity against the effectiveness of antibiotics in general.

In addition, the super stores of the city also need to monitor their items because many of the brands of powder milk were also found to be outdated and adulterated.

Unfortunately, many of the stores have profit as the priority and not the safety of the buyer. On top, the buyer sometimes is too shy or busy to complain, allowing a brazen disregard to take over. Since this is the month of Ramadan, many people who are fasting will buy dairy items and will be taking them after a long break. Such a prolonged gap between meals will leave their systems weaker which will be attacked faster with contaminated food items.

Keeping the duty towards those who keep fast, super stores need to set up special safety detecting points within the shops so only the best products are on sale. Hoodwinking customers into buying stale items will only tarnish their image and severely dent the credibility of the super stores. For the long term move, the government needs to set up monitoring cells at all farms to prevent reckless use of medicines in animal feed.

 

 

Prevent adulteration of milk, cattle feed

We welcome the move by the high court which ordered the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, BFSA, to submit a detailed report on those responsible for adulterated milk, cattle fodder and other dairy products. The move comes at a time when Bangladesh is trying to project herself to the world as a country moving towards middle income status. But mid income position is not just about steady economic growth but also about improvement in all areas of life. Food adulteration is a constant headache in warm countries; this year, with the mercury already reaching the top, food items can swiftly become stale and without proper safety precautions can end up creating a health crisis. On the other hand, fresh milk can also be contaminated if its found to contain antibiotics a medicine which is used indiscriminately in cow fodder. Meat products are also found to be containing antibiotics since cows and all other animals are given medicine without proper monitoring. Consequently, meat and milk become tainted with the medicine, posing serious health hazards to adults and children. For some time, fattening the cow was the main motive because the ultimate objective was to sell the animal or cut it for meat. In this competition to get the most, little attention was given to control the usage of medicines. Now we have raw cows milk which has antibiotic and other harmful substances. Once these items are consumed, people develop immunity against the effectiveness of antibiotics in general. In addition, the super stores of the city also need to monitor their items because many of the brands of powder milk were also found to be outdated and adulterated. Unfortunately, many of the stores have profit as the priority and not the safety of the buyer. On top, the buyer sometimes is too shy or busy to complain, allowing a brazen disregard to take over. Since this is the month of Ramadan, many people who are fasting will buy dairy items and will be taking them after a long break. Such a prolonged gap between meals will leave their systems weaker which will be attacked faster with contaminated food items. Keeping the duty towards those who keep fast, super stores need to set up special safety detecting points within the shops so only the best products are on sale. Hoodwinking customers into buying stale items will only tarnish their image and severely dent the credibility of the super stores. For the long term move, the government needs to set up monitoring cells at all farms to prevent reckless use of medicines in animal feed.