Barrister Nadim Ahmed, Associate lawyer, FM Associates :
Rampant use of harmful chemicals like formalin, additives and other toxic materials have only led the food suppliers to banks while it landed the consumers, especially children, to hospitals. As tax-paying citizens of Bangladesh, we refuse to be fed toxic food in silence.
There was a time when parents used to advocate their children to eat fruits, fish and vegetables to ensure their healthy and nutritious upbringing. To our utter dismay, parents do not say the same anymore. Fruits are dipped in formalin, mangoes are ripened before time using calcium carbide, toxic pesticides are used for preserving dry fishes- all these just to make some monetary profit by a handful of ‘greedy’individuals at the cost of thousands of lives. Newspaper reports suggest that 40% of the food in our markets is adulterated.
Valid questions arise from here- what’s the law doing? There is a law but it’s age-old, the Pure Food Ordinance 1959. Occasionally, we see various drives being carried out by Magistrates with the cooperation of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police but soon these drives drive-away!
Hence, the Safe Food Act 2013 had been enacted by the Government to stop widespread food adulteration through commissioning of separate courts for the disposal of food-related crimes. Though the Act is a couple of years old, it has come into force from 1st February 2015. The 2013 Act categorised 23 offences for which criminals will face maximum five years in jail term or Tk. 1,000,000 fine. Out of the offences stated, 13 of them are non-bailable. The maximum punishment for adding radioactive ingredients or heavy metals to food stuffs is four years in jail or the Tk. 800,000 fine or both. The highest punishment for adding insecticides, hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals above permissible limits is three years in jail or a fine of Tk. 600,000 or both. Owners of restaurants and hotels, causing health hazards to consumers, will face maximum three years of jail or a fine of Tk. 600,000 or both.
The law says public servants failing to discharge duties stipulated in the law would face departmental disciplinary actions. According to the Act, the government will form a 30-member National Safe Food Management Advisory Council, headed by the food minister, comprising of 14 secretaries, 11 heads of government entities and representation from other stakeholders. Further, any aggrieved person can lodge complaints with the chairman of the Bangladesh Safe Food Authority.
Barrister Mr. Al Amin Rahman, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh (admitted in the appellate division), a renowned lawyer, constitutional, administrative and civil law expert; said in a seminar that while the provisions of this new law look impressive, the implementation still remains an issue. We have abundant laws but what we lack is pure enforcement or execution of these laws- we must give some teeth to the law enforcers so they can bite.
This is not an easy process. It took many European countries almost 50 years before they could ensure food safety. Since Bangladesh has a much weaker infrastructural support, higher political instability coupled with widespread corruption- it shall take us a long time but since the process has already begun- we can only hope to do better from here. Our neighbours, including India and Thailand, have also enforced strict laws against contaminated or adulterated food and to a large extent have been successful as well.