Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance-2005 Essays

Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance-2005 Essays Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance-2005 Essay Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance-2005 Essay CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Background of the Report Food safety legislation should be developed and updated taking into consideration specific needs of consumers and food producers, development in technology, emerging hazards, changing consumer demands and new requirements for trade, harmonization with international and regional standards, obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, as well as social, religious and cultural habits. The implementation of food safety legislation throughout the food chain is essential in establishing an effective food safety system. Effective national food control systems are essential to protect the health and safety of domestic consumers. They are also critical in enabling countries to assure the safety and quality of their foods entering international trade and to ensure that imported foods conform to national requirements. The Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance-2005 is the Bangladeshi food legislations that form the backbone of the food safety programme. The objective of the pure Food Act 2005 is to ensure that the public is protected from health hazards and fraud in the preparation, sale and use of foods and for matters connected therewith. . 2 Scope of the report Shehely Parvin, Assistant professor, Dhaka University and instructor of MKT-510 course made me to undertake the responsibility of preparing a project on â€Å"Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 2005†. This report is required as a part of fulfilling the objectives of a project course (MKT-510) 1. 3 Objective of the Study This report has an objectiv e to study, measure and analyze the implication, implementation performance of Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 2005. This report has divided into six major chapters, mainly focuses on 1. Pure food act of Bangladesh . Implications of pure act in Bangladesh 3. Recommendations for proper implementation of pure food act 1. 4 Methodology: To complete and prepare the report I had to collect information from different sources, persons, and industries. It required two sources of information namely primary source and secondary source. Data from both primary and secondary sources were used to generate the report. Figure 1: Sources of data I Data from primary source: ? Interview and face-to-face conversation with various types of persons ? Informally collected Information’s through discussion. Suggestion of many executives also helped to enrich the report. ? Practical work exposures. II Data from Secondary source: ? Information is collected from Brochures and Relevant books. ? Data sou rces of different food companies. ? News Paper Magazine regarding Banking issues, Seminar papers and so on. 1. 5 Limitations 1. Time Constraint: Compared with the time the task is large that why it becomes difficult to complete the task on time properly. 2. Lack of Information: Lack of enough information was another constraint that extended our limitations. CHAPTER 2 FOOD SAFETY: A PUBLIC HEALTH PRIORITY Safe food contributes to health and productivity and provides an effective platform for development and poverty alleviation. People are becoming increasingly concerned about the health risks posed by microbial pathogens and potentially hazardous chemicals in food. Up to one-third of the populations of developed countries are affected by food borne illness each year, and the problem is likely to be even more widespread in developing countries. The poor are the most susceptible to ill-health. Food and waterborne diarrhoeal diseases, for example, are leading causes of illness and death in less developed countries, killing an estimated 2. million people annually, most of whom are children. Diarrhoea is the most common symptom of food borne illness, but other serious consequences include kidney and liver failure, brain and neural disorders, and death. Food safety refers to the potential hazards associated with food that can cause ill-health in humans. Certain of these hazards are naturall y-occurring (for example aflatoxins in groundnuts), whilst others occur through contamination (for example pesticide residues in fruit). The potential hazards associated with food include the following (Unnevehr and Hirschhorn, 2000; WHO, 2002): Food safety is of particular concern in a developing country context not only because of the high prevalence of food-borne illness and other hazards associated with food, but also because of the considerable economic and social costs that, in turn, reflect prevailing levels of economic development. 2. 1 Major Issues in Food Safety Food borne illness can be caused by microbiological, chemical or physical hazards. The nature and extent of these risks are being elucidated by an increasing body of scientific data, although several areas of information gathering, such as the surveillance of food borne illness, need to be strengthened. There is also mounting concern about new technologies and especially the introduction of genetically modified organisms into the food supply. 2. 1. 1 Microbiological hazards Food borne illness caused by microorganisms is a large and growing public health problem. Most countries with systems for reporting cases of food borne illness have documented significant increases over the past few decades in the incidence of diseases caused by microorganisms in food, including pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter jejuni and enterohaemorrhagic, Escherichia coli, and parasites such as cryptosporidium, cryptospora, trematodes. Changes in farm practices, more extensive food distribution systems and the increasing preference for meat and poultry in developing countries all have the potential to increase the incidence of food borne illness. Extensive food distribution systems raise the potential for rapid, widespread distribution of contaminated food products. Changes in food production result in new types of food that may harbor less common pathogens. Intensive animal husbandry technologies, introduced to minimize production costs, have led to the emergence of new zoonotic diseases, which affect humans. Changes in eating patterns, such as a preference for fresh and minimally processed foods, the increasingly longer interval between processing and consumption of foods and the increasing prevalence of eating food prepared outside the home all contribute to the increased incidences of food borne illness ascribed to microbiological organisms. Effective management of microbiological hazards is enhanced through the use of tools such as Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems. 2. 1. 2 Chemical hazards Chemicals are a significant source of foodborne illness, although effects are often difficult to link with a particular food. Chemical contaminants in food include natural toxicants such as mycotoxins and marine toxins, environmental contaminants such as mercury, lead, radionuclides and dioxins, and naturally occurring chemicals in plants, such as glycoalkaloids in potatoes. Food additives and nutrients such as vitamins and essential minerals, pesticide and veterinary drug residues are deliberately used to increase or improve the food supply, but assurance must first be obtained that all such uses are safe. Chemical contamination of food can affect health after a single exposure or, more often, after long-term exposure; however, the health consequences of exposure to chemicals in food are often inadequately understood. While assessments of the risks associated with exposure to pesticides, veterinary drugs and food additives are usually supported by extensive information; fewer data are available on the toxicology of contaminants in food. 2. 1. 3 Surveillance of food borne disease Effective control of foodborne disease must be based on evaluated information about foodborne hazards and the incidence of food borne disease. Development of a strategy must be based on an appreciation of the targets and time-frame for improving food safety. This should be an on-going process, in which new targets are set when old ones are achieved, and progress should be monitored continuously in targeted surveys. The absence of reliable data on the burden of food borne disease impedes understanding about its public health importance and prevents the development of risk-based solutions to its management. Innovative strategies and methods are needed for surveying food borne disease and food contamination. A laboratory-based surveillance system should be based on sentinel sites and regional and/or international laboratory networks. A necessary prerequisite for risk-based strategies based on optimized surveys is an interdisciplinary approach involving strong collaboration among all sectors dealing with food borne disease surveillance and food safety in the health sector. . 1. 4 New Technologies New technologies, such as genetic engineering, irradiation of food, ohmic heating and modified atmosphere packaging, can be used to increase agricultural production, extend shelf life or make food safer. Their potential benefit for public health is great: for example, genetic engineering of plants has the potential to increase the nutrient content of foods, decrease their allergenicity and improve the efficiency of food production. Some new technologies benefit the health and economy of communities and contribute to sustainable development. 2. 1. 5 Capacity building Most developed countries continue to expand the capacity to protect their populations from exposure to unacceptable levels of microorganisms and chemicals in food. Public awareness of the risks involved is relatively high in these countries, and many governments have made clear commitments to improve food safety. The consumption of locally produced food is more common in developing countries. Fewer processed and packaged foods are available, large volumes of fresh food are traded in traditional markets, and food eaten outside the home is typically prepared by street vendors. Most of the concern for food safety is related to inappropriate use of agricultural chemicals, poor storage of food, an absence of food inspection, lack of infrastructure such as potable water and adequate refrigeration and lack of awareness about food safety and hygiene. Many developing countries are poorly equipped to respond to existing and emerging food safety problems. They lack technical and financial resources, an effective institutional framework, trained manpower and sufficient information about the hazards and risks involved. The risks are especially great in countries where low national income coincides with rapid industrial and agricultural development. 2. 2 Importance of Food Safety Food safety and sanitation are considered to be a key issue to ensure overall food security in Bangladesh. Food is the major source of human exposure to pathogenic agents, both chemical and biological (viruses, parasites, bacteria), from which no individual is spared. The importance of food safety stems from: (1) Food being the primary mode of transmission of infectious disease; (2) The intricate linkage with development- governs individual and community health, national productivity, and promotes export potential thus earns foreign exchange; (3) Emerged as prominent sources of conflict in international agricultural trade. Biotechnology has raised some food safety concerns as new scientific methods to assess the safety of food derived from biotechnology have yet to be developed and agreed upon internationally. Urban population are gradually shifting from cereal-based diets and would likely generate a demand for fish, livestock, horticultural, forest produce as well as processed items, in turn necessitating safety load of associated transport, storage and marketing infrastructure. CHAPTER 3 PRESENT STATUS OF FOOD SAFETY IN BANGLADESH Food safety is a highly complex issue. Many food safety challenges in Bangladesh are well-known and the concerned stakeholders are aware of the need to improve the national food control system. An estimated 45 million people in Bangladesh suffer from food poisoning or some kind of food borne diseases round the year, pathogenic organisms such as bacteria and virus as well as chemical contaminants like pesticides, residues, heavy metals and food additives lead to food borne diseases around the world. Bangladesh is in worse condition due to poor awareness about food safety among producers and consumers. 3. 1. 1 Meat: Bangladesh has a large livestock population but for long time meat processing has remained to a very small section of people. The supply of meat constitutes for all communities of urban and rural areas a factor of economic, hygienic and public health importance, but the situation of meat production and processing with regard to handling, slaughtering and dressing of food animals takes place in a much disorganized way and unsanitary conditions. The public due to unawareness and non-enforcement of laws many a times buy meat, which cannot ensure protection to consumers from the potential danger of inferior quality meat. The finished products are transported to meat shops by rickshaw, cart, vans and shoulder carriage, often lying on unclean surfaces and exposed to health hazardous agents. Blood, ruminal and intestinal contents are either left where the slaughter has taken place or washed down a drain to eventually end up in a pond or a watercourse. 3. 1. 2 Milk and Milk Products: There is no proper systems developed in the production of milk and their products in Bangladesh and the public community does not feel the importance of hygienic milk. Supply of milk from widely scattered sources, non availability of cooling before and during transportation, careless handling and distribution under improper hygienic condition and willful adulteration with pond or river water are all unsanitary activities under which milk is being sold. Moreover the transportation of milk from villages to urban market presents an enormous problem. Milk after production is kept in buckets or earthenware pails and sold to gowallas and milkmen, who ultimately collect milk in big vessels and transport to town and cities on shoulder carriage or bicycle or by road transports and rail. During transportation innumerable opportunities are provided for contamination. 3. 1. 3 Poultry Meat: There is two marketing systems regulate the poultry meat sector in Bangladesh: Firstly marketing of rural scavenging poultry and secondly marketing of broilers. During these pre-harvest and post-harvest activities hygienic conditions are not maintained. 3. 1. 4 Eggs: The egg is an excellent example of a safe food product that normally is well protected by the intrinsic parameters. In Bangladesh eggs are not sold on the basis of quality cleanliness, size and weight but sometimes on the basis of production origin i. e. native or deshi eggs and farm eggs. Improper handling and bad transportation lead to rotting of eggs. However the preservation of egg quality and its public health importance are not given due attention. . 1. 5 Fast Food: The food habits of people all over the world are changing at faster rate and they are increasingly depending on modern food technology. In many supermarkets of developed countries including Bangladesh, nearly 10,000 ready-to-cook types of food items can be seen. Some of the examples of commonly marketed popular food items of animal origin are Meat Burger, Beef patties, Chicken nugget, Corned beef, Meat soups, m eat roll, Chocolate milk, etc. If these foods prepared under poor hygienic environment which may cause outbreaks of disease after ingestion by consumers. 3. 2 ADULTERATION OF FOODS IN BANGLADESH Its Effect |FOOD adulteration is the process of adding chemical substances with foods, which should not be contained within food and beverages. Chemical | | |substances or simply adulterants may be internationally added to substances to reduce manufacturing costs, or for some deceptive or malicious| | |purpose. Adulteration of foods is a common age-long problem of Bangladesh. The food adulteration by vested groups has made the situation | | |worse in Bangladesh. | | |3. 2. 1 Use of fertilizer chemical adulterants | | |Urea: The chemical fertilizer urea is used in our rice to make it whiter, fish in kitchen markets are stored in formaldehyde (used to | | |preserve dead-bodies) to keep them fresh-looking. | |There are many applications of urea such as to grow more food dyeing in textile, bright colour rice bright colour puppet rice, preservation | | |of fish, meat and vegetables, food additive for cow which sells in the Eid- ul-Azha, flavour-enhancing additive for cigarettes. It forms | | |dermatitis or inflammation of the skin (rashes), bulkiness of the body, kidney and liver damage etc. | | |Calcium Carbide: Fruits are ripened artificially using calcium carbide while traces of organo-phosphorus - an insecticide - has been | | |discovered in vegetables in kitchen markets. The nutritional elements that should be in fruits and vegetables, if adulterated with dyes and | | |synthetic colours, are destroyed. | | |Formaline: Formaline has been used for the preservation of noodles, meat, fish etc. It creates in the body violent coughing, headaches, | | |Asthma, Bronchitis, and some other complicated diseases | | |Amylum: Amylum is the polysaccharide carbohydrate, which forms the crystalline form in the liver and creates digestion problem. It is added | | |to sausages as a thickening, stiffening or gluing agent. | | |3. 2. 2 Use of Health Hazardous Agents For Colouring Food: | | |Some sweetmeat makers from rural areas are unaware of the existence of food colouring and use only industrial dyes in their products. The | | |dough makers in different parts of the country put sulphuric acid in hot milk to make it thicken quickly. Colours and sweeteners are injected| | |into fruits. All artificial colours are highly toxic such as copper, zinc or indigo-based green dyes, are added to soft and hard drinks, and | | |in colouring sweets etc. | | |3. 2. 3 Substituting With Under Quality Food Substances | | |Mogdad seeds and Roasted chicory roots: Mogdad seeds and Roasted chicory roots have been used as adulterants to make cheaper coffee. But | | |those are highly toxic and play an important role in increasing the blood pressure. | |Oleomargarine: Oleomargarine or lard is the fatty acid added to butter, which is cheap and can be easily made industrially. | | |Rapeseed: Rapeseed that has been linked with adverse effects in asthma, allergies and hay fever, is commonly added to sunflower oil and | | |soyabean oil. | | |Rye: Rye flour has been added to barley, bread, wheat flour, and even alum to disguise the use of low-quality flour. But rye can cause both | | |physical and mental harm, including convulsions, miscarriage, necrosis of digits, and hallucinations. | |Sugar syrup: Honey is also frequently adulterated, as lab tests have found sugar syrup is often mixed with honey to enhance the sweetness. | | |It is fully responsible for obesity, diabetics, foot ulcers, eyes and nerve damages etc. | | |Animal fat, fake oil: Nowadays, pure butter oil and ghee are also very rare in the market. Dishonest traders use a host of ingredients such | | |as animal fat, palm oil, potato mash, and vegetable oil to produce fake butter oil. They even mix soap ingredients like steirian oil with | | |ghee, to increase the proportions. | |Along with Star Ship, Fresh and Goalini, reportedly use vegetable fat instead of milk. | | | | | | | | |3. 2. 4 Mixing With Nonfood Ingredients | | |Most of the red chilli powder used in the market is adulterated in most cases the spices are mixed with brick dust. | | |Cutting oil has been used for making milk. When milk is made by cutting oil, there is no chance to grow any kind of virus/bacteria and so | | |preservation is unnecessa ry. | CHAPTER 4 Food Safety and Quality Control Framework in Bangladesh Bangladesh has achieved a significant progress in health nutrition of the people. In spite of this progress, still the infant mortality rate is 51/1000 and maternal mortality ratio is 3/1000 livebirths. Some one third of the children born with low birth weight and only 11. 5 % of preschool age children are nutritionally normal. ‘Diarrhoeal diseases is one of the major public health problems in the country. Some two third of these diarrhoeal diseases are food and water borne. Bangladesh is yet to develop a unified Food Safety Administration System and to formulate a Food Safety Policy. But it has a National Food and Nutrition Policy where attention has been given on food safety. There are significant activities in food safety and quality control are going on in the country. A number of Ministries, Departments and Agencies are involved in these activities with a major responsibility of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) which has a unique infrastructure to deliver its services throughout the country. Under this Ministry, Management Information System on food safety and food borne illnesses is some extent integrated with the Primary Health Care Programme. It may be mentioned here Bangladesh has signed the WTO Agreement. In Bangladesh, the food safety and quality control framework consists of Laws, Regulations Standards, Administration Inspection and Laboratory analytical services. 4. 1 Laws, Regulations and Standards 4. 1. 1 LAWS AND REGULATIONS a) The Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 1959: This is an ordinance to provide better control of the manufacture and sale of food for human consumption. Now, this Ordinance is under revision as ‘The Bangladesh Pure Food (Amendment) Act, 2004. Under this Act, it has been proposed to constitute a National Food Safety Council ‘headed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as well as to establish Food Courts. (b) The Bangladesh Pure Food Rules, 1967:. In this Rule, there are generic standards for 107 food products. Now, this ‘Rules is under revision. c) The Special Power Act, 1974 (Act No XIV of 1974-as modified up to the 31st July, 1978): An Act to provide special measures for the prevention of certain prejudicial activities, for more speedy trial and effective punishment of certain grave offences. (d) The Food Grain Supply (Prevention of Prejudicial activity) Ordinance, 1956 (Ord. xxvi of 1979): This ordinance provides special measures for prevention of prejudicial activity relating to the storage, movement, transshipment, supply and distribution of food grains. It provides basis for the protection of false statement or information. e) The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution Ordinance, 1985: This ordinance is to establish an Institution for standardization, testing, metrology, quality control, grading and marking of goods. Within the framework of this ordinance, Government has established the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI). One import task is to certify the quality of commodities, materials, whether for local consumption, export and import. The Ordinance has been amended as The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (Amendment) Act, 2003. Currently, BSTI is developing a ‘Policy on Labelling. BSTI is the Codex Focal Point for Bangladesh. (f) The Radiation Protection Act, 1987: Under this Act, the Institute of Food and Radiation Biology (IFRB) of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission is primarily involved in food irradiation research and development in the country. (g) The Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Act, 1989: The Government has enacted â€Å"The Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Act, 1989 for universal salt iodisation banned non-iodised salt from market, aimed at virtual elimination of IDD from the country. h) The Essential Commodity Act, 1990: The purpose of administering this act is to stable, maintain or increase supply of essential commodities including foodstuffs. The mandate of Essential Commodity Act also includes broad spectrum of broad spectrum of activities like storage, transport, distribution, disposal, acquisition, use or consumption of any essential commodity. (i) Fish and Fish prod uct (Inspection and Quality Control) Rules, 1997: This section of the Fish and Fish products (Inspection and Control) Ordinance 1983 (Ord xx of 1983) and n conjunction with fish and fish products Inspection and Quality Rules 1989, and other related provisions made there under, the Government has made the Rules: Fish and Fish product (Inspection and Quality Control) Rules, 1997. These Rules are basically meant to develop quality improvement to promote export of trade. The quality control of fish and fish products in the country has earned reputation of the importing countries. (j) Laws and Regulations: In addition, a number of other Laws and Regulations are existed in the country to ensure the safe and quality food viz. The Animal Slaughter (Restriction) and Meat Control (Amendment) Ordinance,1983 (it is under revision);The Pesticide Ordinance,1971 the Pesticides Rules,1985;Destructive Insects and Pests Rules (Plant Quarantine),1966,amended up to 1989;Agricultural Products Market Act,1950 (revised in 1985);Fish Protection and Conservation Act,1950 (amended in 1995);Marine Fisheries Ordinance 1983 and Rules,1983;Procuremnet Specifications, Ministry of Food, Rice Mill Control Order etc. To protect the consumers rights and privileges a new Act i. e. Consumers Protection Act, 2004 is to be passed soon. There are also a number of policies i. . Bangladesh Food and Nutrition Policy, 1997 and National Plan of Action on Nutrition, National Agricultural Policy, 1999; Integrated Pest Management Policy, 2002 etc are linked with the countrys food safety and quality control. (h) Pure Food Act, 2005: Finding huge irregularities and unhygienic situation in the food sectors, the government has formulated a new law, the Pure Food Act, 2005. 4. 1. 2 Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 2005 in Details Provisions regarding manufacture and sale of Food 1. Prohibition of manufacture or sale of food not of proper nature, substance or quality (1) No person shall directly or indirectly a) Manufacture or sell any article of food which is adulterated, or (b) Sell to the prejudice of the purchaser any article of food which is not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser. (2) An offence shall not be deemed to have been committed if the article of food contains the normal constituents and if any innocuous substance or ingredient has been added thereto, if such substance or ingredient (i) is required for the production or preparation of such article as an article of  commerce in a condition fit for carriage or consumption, and (ii) is not so added raudulently to increase the bulk weight or measure, or to conceal the inferior quality, of such article: Provided that the admixture of such su bstance or ingredient does not render such article to be injurious to health; 2. Prohibition of sale or use of poisonous or dangerous chemicals, intoxicated food colour, etc No person shall directly or indirectly sale any food in which poisonous or dangerous chemicals or ingredients or additives or substances like calcium carbide, formalin, pesticides [DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane ), PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl oil) etc. r intoxicated food colour or flavouring matter has been used in any food which may cause injury to human body. 3. Prohibition of manufacture or sale of food not of proper standard of purity No person shall, directly or indirectly manufacture or sell any milk, butter, ghee, wheat flour (that is to say, maida, atta or suji) or mustard or any other rape seed oil, or any other article of food which are not of proper standard of purity. Standard of purity of milk or skimmed milk or condensed milk or  sterilized milk or desiccated milk   (1) In the case of milk other than skimmed, condensed, sterilized or desiccated milk,- (a) the species of animal from which the milk is derived shall be specified by the seller in such manner as the local authority may direct by general or special order in this behalf;(b) the article sold shall be the normal, clean and fresh secretion obtained by the complete milking of the udder of a healthy animal of the species specified, not earlier than seven days after the calving and freeing of the colostrums of such animal; and (c) the article sold shall, whether such secretion has been processed or not, be an article from which no ingredient has been extracted and to which no water or other substance (including any preservative) has been added and which contains the normal constituents prescribed under clause (a) or sub-section (1) of  section 5. (2) In the case of skimmed milk,- (a) T he container shall be labelled and marked in such manner as may be prescribed; (b) The article sold shall contain such proportion of the constituents of milk as maybe prescribed; and (c) The place at which such article is sold shall be specified by the seller in such manner as the local authority may direct by general or special order in this behalf. 3) In the case of condensed, sterilized or desiccated milk,- (a) The container shall be hermetically closed, labelled and marked in such manner as may be prescribed; and (b) The article manufactured or sold, as the case may be, shall contain such proportion of the constituents of milk as may be prescribed. Standard of purity of butter In the case of butter, the article manufactured or sold, as the case may be, shall be exclusively derived from the milk or cream (other than skimmed, condensed, sterilized or desiccated milk or cream) of a cow or buffalo or both, and may be with or without salt and with or without the addition of any innoc uous colouring matter, and shall not contain a greater proportion of water than may be prescribed. Standard of purity of ghee In the case of ghee (that is to say, clarified milk fat), the article manufactured or sold, as the case may be, shall contain only substances (other than curds) which are prepared exclusively from the milk of cows or buffaloes or both, and shall fulfil such other conditions as may be prescribed. Standard of purity of wheat flour In the case of wheat flour (that is to say, maida, atta or suji), the article manufactured or sold, as the case may be, shall contain only substances which are derived exclusively from wheat, and shall fulfill such other conditions as may be prescribed. Standard of purity of mustard or any other rape seed oil In the case of mustard or any other rape seed oil, the article manufactured or sold, as the case may be, shall be derived exclusively from mustard or any other rapeseed, as the case may be, and shall fulfill such other conditions as may be prescribed. 5. Prohibition of manufacture or sale of anything similar to or resembling an article of food No person shall, directly or indirectly and whether by himself or by any other person acting on his behalf, manufacture or sell anything similar to or resembling an article of food notified or under any name which so resembles the ordinary name of such article of food as to be likely to deceive the public or which is in any way calculated to mislead the public as to the nature, substance or quality of that thing. 6. Prohibition of keeping adulterants in places where food is manufactured or sold A person cannot keep or sell adulterants near the premises of manufacturing process of food. If any kind of adulterants is found near a food premise or shop then the owner will be accused for breaking the law if the contrary cannot be proven. No person shall keep Guzi (niger seed) in any manufactory or shop. No person shall keep any quantity of white oil except under a license granted by a local authority. 7. Prohibition of sale of diseased animals and unwholesome food intended for human consumption No person shall sell for human consumption any living thing which is diseased or unsound or sell or manufacture any other article of food intended for human consumption which is unwholesome or unfit for human consumption. 8. Prohibition of use of false labels No person shall, directly or indirectly use labels which falsely describes that the article is to mislead as to its nature, substance or quality. 9. Registration of certain premises The premises used for manufacturing, storing or selling food must be registered from authorized body. 10. Special provisions for seller of Ice cream and some other food The manufacturer and seller of certain dry food such as ice cream, ice, pickles, sweets, cake, biscuits, bread, flour, pulses etc must clearly write their address on the signboard and the transport the use to delivery. Prohibition of the keeping of bread-stuffs, etc, otherwise than in covered receptacles. No milk, bread-stuffs, cake, pastry, sweetmeats, confectionery or other article of  food intended or commonly used for human consumption without further preparation by cooking shall be sold, exposed or kept or hawked about or stored for sale unless they be kept properly covered or otherwise guarded to the satisfaction of the local authority, so that they shall be protected from dust, dirt and flies 11. Certain diseased person not to manufacture, sell or touch food No person, who is suffering from leprosy, tuberculosis or any other disease which may be notified by the Government in this behalf, shall manufacture or sell any article of food, or will fully touch any such article which is for sale by any other person. Provisions regarding analysis of food 1. Right of purchaser to have article of food analyzed or otherwise examined A person who has purchased any article of food shall, on payment of such fee as may be prescribed, be entitled to have a sample of such article analyzed or otherwise examined by the public analyst appointed for the area in which the purchase was made, and to receive from such public analyst a certificate in the form provided in the Schedule, specifying the result of the analysis or examination. 2. Providing samples for examination is obligatory Any Gov’t nominated person can order the buyer to sell certain products to him for the purpose of examination. He can also ask for the sample of the products to be kept for sale or transport or store. 3. Procedure for obtaining analysis or examination A person who intends to have analyzed or otherwise examined a sample shall-(1) forthwith notify in writing his intention to the person who sold or surrendered the sample;(2) divide the sample into three parts, and mark, seal or fasten each part One part to the person who sold the sample, or One part to the consignor, whose name and address appear on the container of the article, One part for purposes of future comparison; and(3) thereafter submit within seven days one part to the public analyst appointed for the area in which the sample was sold or surrendered. 4. Duty of public analyst to supply certificate of analysis Every public analyst to whom a sample has been submitted for analysis or bacteriological or other examination shall- (a) Analyze or examine such sample or cause such sample to be analyzed or examined; (b) not later than 14 days[ seven days in normal case and two days in case of  emergency after the date on which he receives the sample, deliver to the person submitting it a certificate specifying the result of the analysis or examination, (c) Send a copy of the certificate to the local authority concerned. Provisions regarding inspection and seizure of food 1. Appointment of Inspector A person can be appointed as an inspector by the Gov’t or Gov’t monitor local authority. 2. Right to enter premises A person authorized, or an Inspector appointed, have the right to enter any premises at any hour of the day or night excluding the hours between midnight and day break. 3. Production of books, vouchers and accounts A person authorized, or an Inspector appointed, may by written notice require any person carrying on the trade or business in, or manufacturing or selling, any article of food, to produce before him for inspection all books, vouchers, accounts and other documents relating to such trade, business, manufacture or sale and every person on whom such notice is served shall comply with such requisition. 4. Power to seize food believed to be adulterated. The nominated person can inspect and examine the food any time (except midnight to dawn) and seize food believed to be adulterated 5. Destruction of seized living things and food The nominated person in front of two witnesses and with the written acknowledgement of the owner will destruct the seized food products 4. 1. 3 Laboratory for Food Analyses in Bangladesh The following Laboratories are responsible for qualitative and quantitative assessment of food items- 1. Public Health Laboratory of the Institute of Public Health, Dhaka under the MOHFW. Some 5000 food samples are tested here annually, sent by the Sanitary Inspectors from different Upazilas and Municipalities. 2. Laboratory of the Institute of Public Health Nutrition under the MOHFW-dealing with the monitoring of the quality of Iodised salt and others 3. Food Testing Laboratory, Directorate of Food under the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management. 4. Institute of Food Science Technology, Dhaka; Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) as well as its Branches at Chittagong and Dhaka under Ministry of Science and Information Communication Technology. 5. Food Testing Laboratory of Dhaka City Corporation under the MOLGRD. 6. Laboratory of Plant Protection Wing of DAE of Ministry of Agriculture: 7. Quality Control Laboratories for frozen fish at Khulna and Chittagong under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. Under this Ministry, there is also Lab at Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh. 8. Laboratory of Department of Livestock under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. 9. Institute of Food Radiation Biology, Atomic Energy Commission under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. 10. Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka under the Ministry of Education. 11. Central laboratory and Lab of Post Harvest Technology of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute and Lab. of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture. 12. Armed Forces Food and Drug Testing Laboratory, Dhaka Cantonment, Dhaka under the Ministry of Defence. 13. Laboratories of Department of Food Technology Rural Industry, Department of Dairy Science and Department of Biochemistry of Bangladesh Agricultural University. 14. Chemical Examination Laboratory of CID under the Ministry of Home Affairs. 15. Environment Laboratory, Directorate of Environment under the Ministry Environment and Forests. 4. 1. 4 Bangladesh Food Standards a. Under the Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 1959 and the Bangladesh Pure Food Rules, 1967, there are 107 different generic, mandatory food standards. b. BSTI is the Standardisation body in the country. There are 50 mandatory generic food standards of BSTI. In addition, there are some 250 optional standards for different foodstuff. BSTI is also adopting Codex standards. 4. WHO/FAO supported Food Safety Program in Bangladesh Food safety Programme – a collaborative programme of Govt. of Bangladesh and WHO is being implemented in Bangladesh since 1994. Under the Food Safety Programme. The major activities are- 1. Strengthening of Public Health Laboratory of the Institute of Public Health, Dhaka a. Procurement of instruments, equipment and chemicals b. Training of the laboratory personnel (in home and abroad) 1. Training on Food safety for Health Managers and Sanitary Inspectors of MOHFW and MOLGRD. 2. Training on HACCP for Quality Control personnel of Food industries 3. Orientation on food safety for- School teachers, Community leaders, Religious leaders and Hotel Restaurant Managers/Owners , Street food vendors and others 4. National and Regional seminars on food safety. 5. Information, Education and Communication activities on food safety for School children, Managers/owners of Hotel restaurants, Food vendors, Mass people and others. 6. Research works : On quality of different food items, epidemiology of food borne diseases etc CHAPTER 5 IMPLEMENTATION OF FOOD ORDINANCE Access to pure food is a necessary corollary of right to life. Every human being has a right to get pure food for his consumption. Every state should provide comprehensive law for the safety and purity of food. Pure and unadulterated food should be made available to every person, irrespective of his caste, creed, religion, race and nationality. But unfortunately, food safety situation in our country is very much precarious. Manufacturers and sellers frequently mix poisonous and dangerous chemicals like calcium carbide, formalin, pesticides, intoxicated colorants and flavorants which are injurious to our body. Legal regulations and manufacturers monitoring practices are not enough to prevent contamination of the countrys food supply and to protect consumers from serious harm 1. Administration And Inspection Major Stakeholder Ministries and Departments for Food Control in Bangladesh |Sl. |Ministry |Department/Organization |Major Activities | |No | | | | |1. Ministry of Agriculture |Plant Protection Wing, DAE |Phyto Sanitary certificate for Import/Exported plants/plant | | | | |products | | | | |Pesticide Use Control | | | | |Fertilizer Use Control | |2. |Ministry of Food |Directorate General of Food (DGF) |Quality Control of PFDS, Stock, Procured Food grains/Food Stuff, | | | | |Imported food etc. | | | | |Food Control in the Market (not doing at present) | |3. Ministry of Health |Directorate General o f Health; District |Food Quality and Sanitation Control in Upazila/District level | | |Family Welfare |Upazila Health Administration and |Testing | | | |Institute of Public Health. | | |4. |Ministry of LGRD |City Corporation Pourashava Health Units|Have Sanitary Inspector, Labs and Public Analyst for food quality | | | | |control in their command areas. | | | | | | |5. |Ministry of Fisheries |A) Department of Fisheries (FIQC Wing) |Fish Quality Control Certification for export | | |Livestock | Same for the domestic market | | | |B) Department of Livestock |Animal Health | | | | |Animal Product | | | | |Imported Animal | |6. |Ministry of Industries |BSTI |Frame Standards of Food Products | | | | |Testing Certification Marks and Surveillance. | |7. Ministry of Science, |BAEC |Test Radiation level of Imported Food items; Pesticides Residues | | |Information and | | | | |Communication Technology | | | | | |IFST, BCSIR |Testing of Food Items; | | | | |Research and Development | |8. |Ministry of Education |DG, Primary, |Food safety, Nutrition Environmental issues in the text book of | | | |DG, Secondary, |all level of education | | | |Text Book Board, | | | | |Universities | | |9. Ministry of Information |PIB |Broad cast issues for awareness building | | | |BTV | | | | |Radio Bangladesh | | |10. |Ministry of Home |Bangladesh Police |Assist the Inspection Agencies | |11. |Ministry of Law, Justice |- |Formulation, Vetting, Parliamentary Approval etc. | | | Parliamentary Affairs | | | So, food control in Bangladesh is a multi-sectoral responsibility. 5. 1. The drive against adulterated food Little was done in the past to protect the consumers from adulteration, pathogenic microbial contamination, toxic substances such as pesticide and other contaminants in food. There was an obsolete Food Law from British time, and although updated long back, it was never practiced seriously. Present government deserves thanks for taking serious action against the unh ygienic production, processing and marketing of foods. We much appreciate also the bold steps taken by the BSTI and the law enforcing agencies particularly the courageous and uncompromising attitudes of the magistrates in penalizing the perpetrators. Government and private media such as the dailies and TV channels are taking appropriate actions in disseminating the results of the drives to the consumers. The drive has even crossed the political divide. [pic] Figure: A mobile court fining a food dealer for making food with hazardous chemicals which are very fatal for human being Finding huge irregularities and unhygienic situation in the food sectors, the government has recently formulated a new law, the Pure Food Act, 2005. The new law has the provision to fine the adulterators up to Tk 2 lakh from Tk 75,000 and jail the guilty for a maximum of three years. Since April, 2005 the government has started a drive to control adulteration and unhygienic practices of food in food processing industries, market, hotels and restaurants. The public are terrified to find the poor, unhygienic, and substandard food contaminated with poisonous and harmful chemical substances and microorganisms and inappropriately processed. Mobile courts infrequently invigilate around the capital and the districts to discover different kinds of food houses, hotels and restaurants which are found to be selling noxious foodstuffs. But this invigilation is not sufficient to meet the whole demand. A regular mobile court resumes food drives to check adulteration of different food items. The government formed four special mobile courts on June 14, 2005 in the wake of a series of reports carried by news papers on colossal food adulteration. The mobile courts conduct massive drives in the city eateries and food shops and fine and imprison a good numbers of adulterators. The government initiative had drawn a huge public attention and praise and the drives in no time spread elsewhere in the country. The recent food drives has brought some development in the food sector in the city, but most of the issues remain the same due to the halt. The situations remain the same in the fruits and vegetables markets as well. The farmers are using chemicals in the vegetables and fruits so that they ripen quickly. But some sweetmeat shops have changed their approaches, which is a good sign. The use of harmful textile dyes in the sweetmeat has sharply fallen. Besides, some food producing companies are mentioning the expiry dates on their products. However, the kitchens of the common roadside restaurants remain as filthy as before. A mass awareness has been created in all the tiers of the society from the cities and towns to the villages. The consumers are getting aware of their right to get nutritious, safe and hygienic food. Although there are some minor flaws like a picture in a daily of a dish of prepared food in a very well known restaurant showing the tails of prawns as cockroaches. 5. 2 Efforts by NGOs: A wide range of activities on food safety awareness are being undertaken by a series of NGOs as Follows-. Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA) DOSHER Bangladesh, etc 5. 3 Limitations in Implementation of the Ordinance: Food control activities are implemented unorganized form, including scanty information on food contamination. Food laws regulations do not embody recent development/ recommend ations by Codex, SPS TBT Agreements Weak coordination among activities like plant quarantine, food control, standards, enforcement and labs Weak Consumer/public awareness programs GM food, one of the main issues of concern for human health is ignored Compliance cost. Financial resource constraints. Dynamic Factors Influencing Food Safety Policies; Food Safety Concerns in Technology Improvement Research: Production technology research; Post harvest Technology Research; Policy Research and Food Safety Absence of proper enforcement Knowledge of standards, laws/regulations are too low among the producers and consumers. Safe limits of arsenic in food yet to be ascertained. CHAPTER 6 RECOMMENDATIONS 6. 1 Food Safety Policy A comprehensive Food Safety Policy should be formulated having an appropriate institutional framework to operationalize it. 6. 2 Laws, Regulations, Standards The pure Food Ordinance 2005 and other Regulations relevant Acts should be updated from time to time in view of the changing requirements. Enactment of Consumer Protection Act, Feed Act etc. should be made as early as possible. Harmonization of provisions/standards in various laws/rules is also necessary. Guidelines should be issued on Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) for all foods including fruits and vegetables. CAC standards do not fully take care of a number of foods manufactured/grown in the country for their quality and safety standards. In such cases, the internationally accepted food certification system should rely on the National standard for marketing. A comprehensive labelling law with appropriate labelling provisions for local and imported packaged food inconformity with CODEX should be formulated and properly implemented. 6. 3 Technical Assistance (TA) needs: Training for the national regulation agencies concerning the preparation of technical regulations (TBT principles); for implementing certification, accreditation and reinforcement; evaluating the impact of the standards/procedures/guidelines; Seminar/workshop for creating awareness among private and public sectors; Preparation of a SPS and TBT accomplishment guidelines. 6. 4 Infrastructure of Food Control Include measures to modernize food inspection, manufacturing procedures, research on food borne disease outbreaks; Establishment of bodies for accreditation, regulation and certification; Development of consultants ; Feasibility and methods for post-marketing monitoring of GM food products Institutional changes- complement HACCP, ISO management System etc. An apex body for policy formulation and development task of Food Quality and Safety Programs (FQSP) should be formed including all stakeholders; Institutional mechanism such Food Safety Council, Food Safety Technical Comm. Monitoring Committee etc. A National Food Control Agency should be established. 6. 5 Training and Human resource development Should be targeted for i) food inspectors, ii) food scientists and analysts, iii) policy makers, iv) microbiologists, v) public health physicians, vi) food technologists, vii) serial librarians and documentation officials, viii) food law experts etc. 6. 6 Conformity Assessment Infrastructure Adequate testing facilities including microbiological and safety parameters analysis should be developed from farm to production to assist the compliance of HACCP, quality certification system and for continual improvement of a produce. Food safety and other certification system should be reviewed through unified efforts of industries, farmers, regulators, scientists, academicians consumers to develop a state-of-the-art, food safety quality system. Cleaning, grading, testing, standardization, packing, storage, labeling and marketing based on well documented principles o f good practice, HACCP, scientific storage should be encouraged at farmers’ level so as to promote direct integration of food processing units with producers. Capacity strengthening is required for the laboratories of different institutions. Strong co-ordination among the conformity assessment infrastructure. There is a need to establish/review safe limits for food additives and contaminants, study data on these mycotoxins, level of risk and recommendation of Codex. Laboratories should follow simple method for detection and quantification of toxins in mycotoxin prone food items. An electronic certification (E-cert) system may be developed. It is very important that the sampling procedure is standardized and it is transparent. The procedures for inspection and drawing samples should be laid down in accordance with the standards prescribed and should be in tune with the international practice. 6. 7 Food Safety Database Adequate data should be generated for pesticide residues, toxic metals in different food crops for use in risk assessment work, for ensuring consumer’s protection and for harmonization of standards with that of safety standards under Codex. The food safety information database should be expanded to provide more complete information on the incidence of food borne disease by pathogen and by food. Surveillance program to collect more precise information about the incidence of food borne illness, especially illness caused by chemical and microbiological poisoning including Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7. Growing a networking system on nationwide food borne diseases and its risk assessments. Share information/data for mutual usage wider utilization (particularly to reduce risks). 6. 8 Production and Market Places Development Encouragement to organic production of farmed and processed farm roducts should be on the priority food list, which is an alternative to safe food, produced through conventional techniques. Integrated quality system from farm to market should be developed to ensure that there is no deterioration in the quality of the organic food and it is properly transported, stored and marketed. Depending upon food crops, concept of ISO 9000 and HACCP should be developed and practiced at farm level. Integrated quality marketing approach should be adopted at farm, from pre-harvest to post harvest including scientific storage, grading, standardization, certification, labeling, traceability, tr ansportation and marketing. Technology, innovation and enterprise development should be the keys in attaining food safety. Development of scientific storage facilities in food chain would facilitate in retaining the quality of the produce. 6. 9 Coordination among GOB organizations and GO-NGO activities Domestic harmonization of activities, procedures, method of testing etc. among the GOB agencies is very much required in the first place. A national commitment and the collaboration of all ministries concerned with health, agriculture, finance, commerce, food, industry, municipality and concerned NGOs are to be ensured. 6. 10 Law Enforcement The laws in place should be implemented with full force and hurdles in implementing the existing laws against adulteration to be eliminated. 6. 1 Awareness building Education, awareness and training through manuals, material, and practical demonstration as a priority to regulatory measures should be given to farmers, food processors, govt. re gulators, policy makers, vendors and other persons involved in the system for compliance. Adequate knowledge and guidance should be available to farmers for strict application of good agricultural and marketing practices for their food crops programs to educate consumers about food safety should be launched. 6. 12 Research and Study Food Safety Policy research should be launched in the fields of production, processing, marketing and consumption. Study of collective impact of unsafe food intake should be carried out for which a technical assistance might be sought. CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION In Bangladesh, guaranteeing food safety involves activities conducted by several agencies and institutions whose mandates are often not clearly defined. This has resulted in fragmentation of the food control system and inefficient use of resources. Cooperation and coordination at national, subregional, regional and international levels is required to improve effectiveness and thus protection of the health of the consumer. Assuring food safety is a shared responsibility between all stakeholders, especially, civil society, consumers and industry that must have a common vision in order to succeed. The Government of Bangladesh is well committed to ensure safe and quality food for the people of the country for better health, nutrition and development. The Government is going to constitute a National Food Safety Council soon. Furthermore, the Government is updating the laws, rules and regulations regarding food safety and quality. Strengthening of the existing laboratories and establishment of a reference laboratory as well as set-up of regional Public Health Laboratories at the Divisional and District head quarters under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare are urgently needed. CHAPTER 8 REFERENCES Government of Bangladesh: Various documents. MOA (2004): Report of the National Task Force on Food Safety Bangladesh for FAO-WHO Regional Conference on Food Safety for Asia and the Pacific Seremban, Malaysia, 24-27 May 2004. MOF (2004): Report of the Working groups for Harmonization of food safety laws, regulations, control system, control mechanism and standards for facilitati ng food trade among the SAARC countries. WHO (2002). Food Safety and Food-Borne Illness. World Health Organisation, Geneva. FAO/WHO. Assuring food safety and quality. Guidelines for strengthening a national food control systems. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 76. ( who. int/foodsafety/publications/fs_management/guidelines_foodcontrol/en) WHO. Guidelines for strengthening a national food safety program. WHO/FNU/FOS/96. 2. Geneva, 1996. Henson, S. J. (2002). The Current Status and Future Directions of Codex Alimentarius. World Health Organization, Geneva. Buzby,J. C. and Roberts,T. (1997). Economic costs and trade implications of microbial foodborne illness. World Health Statistics Quarterly, 50, (1/2), 57-66 Robert, J. A. (1996). Economic evaluation of Surveillance. London, Dept of Public Health and Policy. fao. org/docrep/meeting/008/ae335e. htm fao. org/docrep/006/y8705e/y8705e09. html [pic] PRIMARY SOURCE SECONDARY SOURCE SOURCES OF DATA