The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Over 4,12,000 people are becoming victim of cancer, diabeties and other critical diseases every year in the country due to the adulterated food.

Disclosing this yesterday at a seminar in the city, experts urged the Government to enforce the Consumers' Protection Law and create awareness among people to resist marketing of adulterated foodstuffs.

The adulterated food caused harm to pregnant women and even disturbed natural birth process, handicapping children in the womb of mothers before labour, they added.

Bangladesh Council of Science and Industrial Research and Paribesh Bachao Andolon (PABA) jointly organised the seminar on "Adulteration Free Food: Present Condition and Our Duty" at the auditorium of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFST).

Presided over by Acting Director of the IFST and BCSIR Fahima Rokhsana, the seminar was attended by among others, Chairman of the BCSIR Prof Dr Chowdhury Mahmud Hasan, Convener of Toxic Free Food Movement of the PABA Syed Abul Maksud and chairman of the PABA Abu Naser Khan. Dr KM Farmujul Haq, Acting Director of BCSIR presented the keynote paper.

Farmujul haq said to ripe vegetables and fruit dishonest businessmen use toxic chemicals like DDT, which harmed our body severely and cause deadly diseases in the long run.

Addressing the seminar he informed that researchers found toxic colour in vegetables and said that doctors even fear to prescribe vegetables to the patients due to adulteration.

Farmujul Haq noted that they also found toxic chemical in dried fishes like lakkha, vetki, rupchanda.

He urged the Government to implement the consumer right act effectively.

Holding lack of morality responsible for adulteration Chowdhury Mahmud Hasan said adequate knowledge could prevent us from mixing toxic elements into foods.

If the person who worked for the prevention of the adulteration should be paid well, the adulterating process could be minimised he said and added united efforts of people of all sections were needed to stop adulteration of food.