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Adulteration of food, other items -- 1No
application of penalty provision anywhere
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News
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March 24, 2000
The adulteration of food and other items will cease to stop unless the existing laws are made deterrent and the concerned organizations are activated against them, said sources.
There is, however, death penalty provision under the Special Powers Act against adulteration of food items. Whether this was exercised is not known, they said.
Informed sources said three organizations are particularly responsible for acting (according to law) against adulteration of food and other items and their sales. But none of them has been found performing (what is expected of them) for last one decade, it is alleged. As a result, adulterated goods have flooded markets, big or small, even in the remote areas, making it impossible for a buyer to choose which one is pure and which is not.
They said some manufactures/factories have been marketing their products, adulterated or below the standard, for quite a long time. This practice is going on unabated in the absence of any crackdown on them for adulteration.
The public health department under the ministry of health, municipalities or city corporations (which fall under the ministry of LGRD) and police department under the ministry of home are empowered to swoop on adulterers. But activities of the public health department and the municipal sanitary inspectors are non-existent. Some police actions against some petty adulterers and small shopkeepers for selling adulterated items were, however, seen in the recent past in the city. But, after 24 hours, those offender were found back in their old business.
The public health department is under obligation to enforce the provisions in the pure food ordinance, 1956 (amended) in the interest of public health. The same is true of the municipalities. The police can catch any food adulterer under the special powers act.
The Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI) is the sole authority in Bangladesh to test the quality of 131 products, including food, some food items manufactured locally and issue certificates on the items.
Is obligatory for the manufactures of these 131 items to get their products tested at the institution. But a good number of producers have been marketing their products skipping the 'BSTI phase' for a long time. Some of them have been using the BSTI seal on their packets or containers. This gives buyer the impression, although false, that the are products are pure. How a manufacturer/producer can use BSTI seal on its products without having the quality tested with BSTI is surprising .
Second installment tomorrow
Source: The Financial Express |