The Bangladesh Food Safety Authority says it has kept up a run of activities across the country to protect public health and ensure safe food. In the past week, from 9 to 15 August, it ran mobile courts, monitored markets and food businesses, and put out public awareness messages on television and radio.

The authority gave the details in a press release on Sunday, 16 August.

As part of enforcing the Safe Food Act, 2013, mobile courts operated in the capital and in various districts and cities, taking legal action against businesses found breaking the law. In Dhaka Metropolitan area, drives were carried out at seven establishments during the week; three of them were fined a total of Tk 4 lakh and three cases were filed.

Mobile courts also ran in the districts. Under the Safe Food Act, courts operated at four establishments in Brahmanbaria, Moulvibazar, Dhaka and Manikganj, imposing fines totalling Tk 6 lakh and filing four cases. Across Dhaka Metropolitan area and the districts together, seven establishments were fined a total of Tk 10 lakh and seven cases were filed under the Act.

Alongside the courts, the authority continued to monitor food premises. Regular checks at markets, hotels and restaurants, bakeries, sweet shops and food production and processing units have stepped up oversight, and 130 food establishments were monitored across the country during the period.

On 14 August the authority, with sponsorship from the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh, held a seminar in Joypurhat on "The role of local stakeholders in stopping the sale of loose edible oil". State Minister for Food Abdul Bari was the chief guest and inspected the work of the authority's mobile laboratory van.

To raise public awareness, a message on trans fat was broadcast for 14 minutes on Bangladesh Television, and three different safe-food messages were aired for 35 minutes on Bangladesh Betar. The campaigns aim to make people aware of safe eating, hygienic food production and marketing, and consumer rights. Photos, reels and videos on safe food are also being spread widely on social media, and research is under way to gather information for improving food safety systems, risk assessment and policymaking.

Md Shafiqul Islam, chairman of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, said: "Ensuring safe food is one of the government's top priorities. To achieve this, the authority is working in a coordinated way through law enforcement, regular monitoring, mobile courts, research, public awareness campaigns and the involvement of stakeholders. The joint effort of government, traders, producers, consumers and all stakeholders is very important. Such activities will continue in the public interest, on a wider scale and more effectively."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.