The New Nation - Internet Edition

A NEWSPAPER report some time ago stated that 21 persons became sick after taking sweetmeats at a place in Noakhali district. The sweetmeats were probably produced with sub-standard ingredients or those could have become stale. Another newspaper report in the current week focussed on how iftar foods during Ramadan would be laced with textile dyes and even fertilisers to add to their attractiveness. Needless to say, such additives have carcinogenic properties and are thus dangerous for humans.

The unhygienic preparation and handling of food are seen everywhere in the country. Pushcart vendors of various food items cater to large number of people in the open. They care the least about flies sitting on the foods they serve to people. Dust from the road also falls on such foods which are not covered. Even the dishes on which the foods are served are not properly cleaned by the vendors. They wash the plates on which they serve food from the same small bucket of water again and again. The water becomes dirty for repeated use. Thus, many of the open air food caterers are aiding the spread of infectious diseases.

It is not that laws are not there to regulate such dangerous practices which pose serious threats to public health. Three years ago when the mobile courts first went into operation, people could know then how from the dirty and uncared for kitchens of apparently nice looking restaurants on the outside, they were being actually served risky foods without their knowing about the same. The problem, really, is one of law enforcement. The government should take a vigorous interest in enforcing the law in this vital sphere for the sake of public health.