Unsafe food
According to report published in this newspaper a mobile court on Monday fined three eateries and two persons Taka 2.55 lakh in capital Banani and Gulshan areas. Health department of Dhaka North City Corporation and Armed Police Battalion (ApBN-5) led by Executive Magistrate Mohammad Sajid Anwar conducted the mobile court operation. This indeed is a laudable initiative by the authorities. Unfortunately though these types of drives are not regular events and in the absence of constant vigilance the mobile court initiatives are not having the desired deterrent effect. No doubt, there have been special committees galore to look into the issue of food adulteration but nothing much has come of these. Clearly, the only solution to this is stricter laws and penalties and their implementation. The implementation of the relevant laws has to be strengthened to stop what really amounts to slow poisoning through unregulated use of harmful chemicals and additives in food and other items of daily consumption.
More often than not the perpetrators of this crime against humanity sell unhygienic food items and adulterated eatables of all sorts openly and without any fear of being caught or punished. It appears as if a food mafia has been created that has made a joke of peoples health and physical well-being.
One of the main problems of our local eateries is that their staff does not follow the basic principles of food hygiene and safety. They do not observe the guidelines on how to prepare, cook and serve food items, and there is no culture of maintenance and cleanliness in their kitchens. Kitchens of many restaurants are a dismal sight, highlighting that only the part that is seen is to be taken care of: the prepared food and the area where food is served. Even some posh restaurants do not adhere to all the prescribed guidelines, and the story of roadside eateries is anyones guess.
The concerned departments of the government need to enforce a regular inspection regimen to save the public from the evil of adulteration and unhygienic food practices. Also an effective monitoring system must be implemented to check the quality of raw food available in the market. Proper rules and regulations and their implementation are necessary to save people from catching deadly diseases due to the consumption of unhygienic food.
