A fistful of poison in your snack

Beware the next time you pop that fistful of puffed rice into your mouth, for you may be ingesting toxic chemicals with the traditional iftar item.
In a bid to cash in on the demand for puffed rice during Ramadan, traders in Gazipur are adding urea, sodium carbonate, and sulphur, to their items, to make them white, as well as soft and crispy.
Experts have warned that consuming these chemicals can cause various diseases, including cancer.
Abul Kalam Azad, associate professor of chemistry in Sreepur Muktijoddha Rahmat Ali University, said, “Urea, sulphur and hydrose (sodium carbonate) are mixed with puff rice in the factories. These are very harmful for our bodies. Besides, some of the other chemicals used are carcinogenic.”
Gazipur has emerged as the hub of puffed rice production, with several automated factories operating in Bhawal, Mirzapur, Rajendrapur, Sreepur and Mawna areas of the district. Every day, these factories supply large quantities of puffed rice to Dhaka and other parts of the country.
A visit to these factories revealed the most unhygienic conditions and harmful practices engaged to produce puffed rice. At Al-Amin puffed rice factory at Pally Biddyut on Dhaka-Mymensing highway in Sreepur upazila, 12 to 14 workers were working in an unhygienic environment. Some of workers put rice into a burning oven. Some others poured urea-mixed water on the rice, while others added chemicals after a few minutes. When the rice was converted into puffed rice, some of other workers put those into sacks and stored them on the dusty floor.
The workers told The Independent, on condition of anonymity, that they add urea-mixed water for whitening, and sodium carbonate and sulphur to make the puffed rice crispy and soft.
However, the factory owner denied any wrongdoing. “We don’t use any toxic chemical in our factory. We collect rice from different mills in Dinajpur. Now, we don’t know whether the mill owners mix any chemical or not," he added.
Workers at Aklima Food Products factory in same area claimed they just added sodium carbonate, while making puffed rice. It is learnt that chemicals are mixed twice with rice to produce puffed rice. First, the rice mill owners mix chemicals while they prepare rice from paddy, especially for puffed rice. They add chemicals to keep the rice good, as they could store for days. Later, puffed rice factory owners add urea, sodium carbonate and sulphur in their factories.
Owner of Janany Food Products, Abdul Mannan, said, “Normally, we produce 1 to 1.5 tons of puffed rice daily. But, during Ramadan, we produce 3 to 4 tons of puffed rice, as the demand increases. We supply our products to Mymensing, Tangail, Narsingdi, Gazipur and Dhaka.” He also denied adding any chemicals to his products. While contacted, Sreepur upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), Bonani Biswah said, “If anybody adds chemicals or harmful substances, we will take necessary action against them after inspection very soon.”

A fistful of poison in your snack

Beware the next time you pop that fistful of puffed rice into your mouth, for you may be ingesting toxic chemicals with the traditional iftar item. In a bid to cash in on the demand for puffed rice during Ramadan, traders in Gazipur are adding urea, sodium carbonate, and sulphur, to their items, to make them white, as well as soft and crispy. Experts have warned that consuming these chemicals can cause various diseases, including cancer. Abul Kalam Azad, associate professor of chemistry in Sreepur Muktijoddha Rahmat Ali University, said, Urea, sulphur and hydrose (sodium carbonate) are mixed with puff rice in the factories. These are very harmful for our bodies. Besides, some of the other chemicals used are carcinogenic. Gazipur has emerged as the hub of puffed rice production, with several automated factories operating in Bhawal, Mirzapur, Rajendrapur, Sreepur and Mawna areas of the district. Every day, these factories supply large quantities of puffed rice to Dhaka and other parts of the country. A visit to these factories revealed the most unhygienic conditions and harmful practices engaged to produce puffed rice. At Al-Amin puffed rice factory at Pally Biddyut on Dhaka-Mymensing highway in Sreepur upazila, 12 to 14 workers were working in an unhygienic environment. Some of workers put rice into a burning oven. Some others poured urea-mixed water on the rice, while others added chemicals after a few minutes. When the rice was converted into puffed rice, some of other workers put those into sacks and stored them on the dusty floor. The workers told The Independent, on condition of anonymity, that they add urea-mixed water for whitening, and sodium carbonate and sulphur to make the puffed rice crispy and soft. However, the factory owner denied any wrongdoing. We dont use any toxic chemical in our factory. We collect rice from different mills in Dinajpur. Now, we dont know whether the mill owners mix any chemical or not, he added. Workers at Aklima Food Products factory in same area claimed they just added sodium carbonate, while making puffed rice. It is learnt that chemicals are mixed twice with rice to produce puffed rice. First, the rice mill owners mix chemicals while they prepare rice from paddy, especially for puffed rice. They add chemicals to keep the rice good, as they could store for days. Later, puffed rice factory owners add urea, sodium carbonate and sulphur in their factories. Owner of Janany Food Products, Abdul Mannan, said, Normally, we produce 1 to 1.5 tons of puffed rice daily. But, during Ramadan, we produce 3 to 4 tons of puffed rice, as the demand increases. We supply our products to Mymensing, Tangail, Narsingdi, Gazipur and Dhaka. He also denied adding any chemicals to his products. While contacted, Sreepur upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), Bonani Biswah said, If anybody adds chemicals or harmful substances, we will take necessary action against them after inspection very soon.