Introduction

Adulteration of foods has become a national issue. The problem is not only ignoring the
human rights for safer food but also endangering public health seriously with numerous
acute and chronic diseases. Our future generation will be seriously affected with vulnerable
physical and mental growth inflicted by food adulteration. This paper describes the impact of
consumption of adulterated foods on human health and the roles of the concerned
authorities to eradicate it. The key objective of this paper is not to blame or undermine
anyone. We intend to inform the current scenario of food adulteration and wish to bring a
positive change through proper measures by the concerned regulatory authorities.

Question 1:what is the Nature of Food adulteration in Bangladesh ?

Adulteration may occur in simple three following basic patternsFirstly, adding adulterant is the main cause of food adulteration.
Adulterants can be anything that will decrease the quality of the
product. The addition of adulterant in food may be intentional or
accidental.
Adulterants may be solids, chemicals, liquids, colouring substances and
preservative.

Solids like sands, chalk-powder, crushed rocks, seeds of similar crops,

bricks powder, wood powder, tamarind seed powder, detergent powder
etc are mixed with grains or with powdery substances to increase the
weight;

Chemicals are applied to increase the shelf of processed or semiprocessed food item such as formaldehyde(commonly known as
formalin), various compounds of Carbide i.e calcium Carbide; urea,
artificial sweeteners Some chemicals are used for ripening of fruits and
vegetables. For example, bananas are picked when green and artificially
ripened after shipment by being gassed with ethylene. Calcium carbide is
also used for ripening fruit artificially in our country which is inadvisable
because calcium carbide has carcinogenic properties.[8] Industrial-grade
calcium carbide may also contain traces of arsenic and phosphorus which
makes it a human health concern.[9] The use of this chemical for this
purpose is illegal in Bangladesh like most other countries.

Preservatives- As per the rule 2.(g) of the Pure Food Rules, 1967
Preservatives means `any substance which is capable of inhibiting,
retarding or arresting the process of fermentation, acidification or other
decomposition or deterioration of food. A preservative is a substance that
is added to food to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by
undesirable chemical[10]

Coloring/flavoring reagents like textile and synthetic colors, dyes

and pigments, toxic artificial flavor etc are added to improve the color of
food items.[11] These are added to food to give an attractive appearance.
The gloss of these coloring and flavoring reagents in food item make them
more bright and eye catcher and allure the purchasers to buy it.

Secondly, adulteration may also happen

by removing or reducing and substituting a fair part or any
ingredient of the food item, for instance- removing milk fat from the
cow milk and buffalo milk to lower down its quality. Any food item(i.e.
Sweetmeat, Sweetball, Kalakand, Channa, Curd, Yogurt, Cream etc)
made of that kind of cow milk or buffalo milk never can reach the food
value and fall very short of specified milk fat required and eventually
results in adulterated food.
Thirdly, sometimes a completely different kind of thing can be
represented as food item of a specified kind. For example- condensed
milk as we know it in our country has no element of milk at all in it.
BSTIs license conditions requires that- the condensed milk must
contain 8% milk fat, extracted either from cow or buffalo milk.
Question 02:why do you think that the producers mix the Chemicals,
Preservatives or Coloring?

Adulterants are added to food or food adulteration may occur for the
following reasons in a nutshell

To increase the bulk and reduce cost, with intent to defraud the
consumer;

To increase the quantity and make more profit;

To increase the shelf life of food items;

To attract the consumers;

To increase the profit margin on the expense of the health of public or
consumer; etc

Question3: What are the Food safety laws and regulations and food
standards in Bangladesh?

Question4: what are the Adulterated food items in Dhaka city ?

Milk and milk products:`Milk, Dried milk powder, Curd Icecream, Cheese, Butter,
Cream, Ghee (clarified fat), Rosogolla, Kalakand/Kalojam, Sandesh, Chhana,
Kheer,Mawa ,Malai ,
Edible oil and oil products: Butter oil ,Soybean oil, Mustard oil, Palm oil, Coconut
oil, Dalda/Banaspati
Food grains, cereals, and cereal products:Rice, Wheat, Lentil/Dal, Beson ,Ata
,Suzi ,Lachsa semai,
Bakery products: Cake, Biscuit
Fruits, vegetables and miscellaneous products: Jelly, Juice, Sauce ,Pickles,
Ring chips ,Honey, Khair ,Salt

Question 05: What are the Adulterants used in different food items?
Food category
and food item
Soybean oil
Mustard oil
Rice
Muri (puffed
rice)
Vegetables
Potato
Turmeric
powder
Chili powder
Cake
Biscuit
Mango,
banana,
pineapple
Noodles
Sugar
Hen egg
Jelly, sauce
Fish

Adulterant
Palm oil, chemical* , colour*, burnt mobil from rail locomotives,
burnt oil from electric transformer
Chemicals
Urea added to make it whiter
Urea fertilizer to make it whiter and puffier
Organophosphorus compounds and other pesticides
Red toxic colour
Brick dust, buter dal, kheshari dal (lentils), artificial powder, colour
Powder with colour
Textile dye, chemicals*, inedible date expired ata/maida, fertilizer
urea, substandard inedible dalda, rotten egg
Ammonium bicarbonate, sodium cyclamate, fertilizer urea, toxic
colouring agents*, palm oil, burnt oil, outdated inedible ata/maida
Calcium carbide for artificial ripening

Dhekichata chal, lal atta (coarse wheat flour), red potato

Soda used instead of sugar in food
White eggs of farm hens coloured red with textile dye* to sell as
local hen eggs. Tortoise eggs sold as hen eggs
Toxic colouring agents*, chemicals*, spirit
Fried and raw fish refrigerated together

Question06: what are the injurious adulterants of different food

and their health effect?

Question 07: What are the security that we should need to stop the food
adulteration?

It is imposible to stop food adulteration within short term.we should be awareness and take care
our health and safty.The producher,seller,retailer should avoid to mixup chemical,formaline and
other dangerous things. The common man does not know whom to complain and how they
work! The first thing the government should do is to increase the awareness amongst the public
regarding the food adulteration, the local authority to whom the complaint should be addressed
and also provide proper guidelines to the manufacturers. Mobile court should rate some
organization and held dig amount of money.On the oher hand BSTI paly a important role that do
not give licence to do business.Some market and super mall need formanile cheaker that we can
eassily find out adulted food.

Conclusion:

We, the people of Bangladesh have the every legitimate expectation to

get the food free from adulteration as of our constitutional right. This is
the responsibility of the state apparatus to ensure that for the common
people. Food adulteration can be substantially combat by the legal
paradigm presently we have with few renovations of law. But it is very
important, how these laws are being implemented by the state. No
more hyperactive drives without following the spirit of law by the
Mobile Courts are expected, because judicially established Courts are
there to act under the protocol of law. The manufacturers and
producers should not hanker after money by the way of delivering
adulterated food to the innocent people.