Hundreds of unlicenced ice-cream factories have sprung up in different places of Khulna city and the 10 districts under Khulna division, exposing the consumers of ice-cream, especially school-going children, to serious health hazards. Due to lax vigilance of the authorities concerned, the factories are manufacturing the ice-creams using toxic colours, which are injurious to human health. Information Officer and Assistant Director of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Khulna Regional Office, Engineer Mrinal Kanti Biswas, said that only three ice-cream factories under Khulna division have received BSTI certificate for manufacturing ice-cream. These factories are - M/s Milky Ice-Cream, Saimun Enterprise and Baby Super Ice-Cream in the city. All the factories under Khulna division except these three are illegal. These adulterated ice-creams, which are very popular among children, contain noxious chemicals like saccharine, fabric dye and flavour that are harmful for health.
A primary school teacher, Firoza Khatun, said, “The foods are popular among children because it is cheap and appealing in both colour and flavour. The vendors from across the city and districts purchase the products from the factories and sell those among the minor students in front of the schools. The items are being manufactured and sold illegally as most of the factories do not have any licence from BSTI. The foods also do not have any expiry date on the labels.”
The ice-cream sellers also sell ice-cream for ‘Vangri Products’, such as broken glasses, tin-based products, plastic items, like bottles, jars, jugs, plates, mugs, buckets, sandals and old shoes, and sometimes they trade old sarees, lungis, kamizs, shirts, pants and other cloths for money. Schools boys and girls buy ice-cream from the vendors who sell those in front of schools in different areas of different districts.
Superintendent of Khulna Medical College Hospital, Dr Anando Mohon Saha, said that excessive saccharine, toxic acid and artificial flavours containing chemicals are used to enhance the smell. They also use unclean water and used packets while making the ice-creams in an unhygienic environment. It is dangerous for the health of children.
Civil Surgeon of Khulna district Dr Md Rafiqul Islam said, “The adulterated foods have a deleterious effect on a child’s health as their immune systems cannot fight against diseases caused by the noxious chemicals used in the products. Children may suffer from diseases like diarrhoea, jaundice and renal complication if they consume the unwholesome ice-creams and beverages rampantly being sold in front of schools.”
When asked about the use of chemicals in the ice-creams, Kamrul Islam Reza, an owner of a factory at Daulatpur Bazaar, denied the allegation and said he uses only edible colours in these products. Sometimes they add saccharin to enhance taste, he added.
Khulna Deputy Commissioner Md Nazmul Ahsan said that the owners of ice-cream factories are violating the law by selling such ice-creams among downtown children and also school students and creating a health hazards for the boys and girls in the city and district. “We will take action against the owners of these ice-cream factories as soon as possible,” the DC added.
Replying to a query, Director of BSTI, Khulna Regional Office, Md Abdul Mannan, said, “We cannot launch sudden anti-adulteration drives due to lack of necessary Magistrates in the administration concerned. The Magistrates are often tied up with routine duties, which make them unavailable for anti-adulteration drives.” He, however, said that, despite this, they are trying their best to regularly conduct anti-adulteration drives in the division.