The Safe Food Act 2013 looked shelved for long as the ministry concerned has yet to devise the rules for coordinated action by 18 relevant ministries, leaving public health at risk from serious ailments.
Even a High Court timeline given to the government to enforce the Act of 
parliament—in the wake of growing concerns over rendering the food chain unwholesome—has lapsed long before.
Parliament passed the Safe Food Bill 2013 on Oct 07, 2013, and on November 23 last year, the High Court ordered the food ministry to execute the law within three months.
The government was supposed to enforce the act from February this year to fight food adulteration and protect public health, reports the Financial Express.
The law carries a five-year jail term and Tk 20 million in penalty for the offence of food adulteration.
Public-health experts and environment activists expressed their frustration over the sluggish enforcement process of the law on the eve of observing the World Health Day 2015 (April 07) today with little or no remedies in sight for spread of fatal diseases from the affected food chain—from production to marketing and consumption.
The theme of the day—‘Food Safety: From Farm to Plate, Make the Food Safe’—is attuned to the universal aspiration for eating safe as a prime habit to keep a sound health.
Food Minister Qamrul Islam told the FE Monday that Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) had been formed and a chairman appointed in the process of putting the act into action.
“We have framed three rules by this time and the rest of the rules will be prepared in phases,” the minister said over phone.
He said that a workshop would be organised by the end of this month at Hotel Sonargaon with all the stakeholders.
The food minister claimed that the Act has been framed in accordance with the safe food acts existing in India and Sri Lanka.
Asked about the implementation authority, he said, “We even have not enforced the law as yet. How can we say what could be better?”
“I do not know who enforces the law in India or Sri Lanka,” he added.
The food-safety authority is to supervise safe-food- management activities like food production, processing, manufacturing, marketing, monitoring, and better practices and risk analysis.
The chairman of the Safe Food Authority would head a 28-member Central Food Management Committee to be formed with high-ranking representatives from the line ministries, departments, agencies, and organisations.
The government appointed two professors from the University of Dhaka and a former member of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) as members of the food-safety authority.
The law aims to combat food adulteration in all stages of the supply chain and look at a variety of other food-related concerns of consumers.
It is also expected to put an end to the current multi-pronged, multi-ministry control mechanisms on food- safety issues.
Seeking anonymity, a health ministry official said the benefits of the Act cannot be enjoyed as the rules are yet to be prepared.
“Also, starting the coordination work is a big challenge for ensuring food safety in the country,” he said.
Talking to the FE, executive general secretary of Poribesh Bachao Andolon (POBA) Eng Abdus Sobhan said there are two laws in the country: The Food Safety Act 2013 and The Formalin Control Act 2015. But the implementation of the Safe Food Act is “so slow that it makes people frustrated”.
He said, “There was movement against formalin and carbide but more deadly chemicals are being used in agriculture sector with patronage of the agriculture officials and multimillionaires in our country who import and market these chemicals.”
The green campaigner pointed out that farmers use DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), hormones and Dirty Dozen chemicals in farm production.
Such poisoning of the food chain from the very field level is causing deadly diseases like cancer, skin ailments, autism and so many others.
Furthermore, chromium and mercury used in industries make way into human body through consumption of fish, he said.
Reports say the hospitals and the diagnostic centres are crowded every day with people suffering from various ailments that also include heart, liver, kidney and diabetic diseases.
Mr Sobhan urged the government to augment monitoring and supervision of field-level farming through their offices set up at district and union levels to sensitise farmers, educate them to use various innovative ways to control pests and increase production without using any chemicals or hormones.
Expert in public health Dr MA Sabur noted that the number of non-communicable diseases has been on the rise in the country as food safety is not ensured here.
“Food safety is an issue of health ministry as the consequences of consuming unsafe food reach the ministry but the act is supposed to be enforced by the food ministry,” he said.
He expressed his dissatisfaction over the formation of so many authorities and enactment of law without any visible impact as regards reducing the public sufferings stemming from unsafe food.
