Hawkers at the Shimrail bus stand in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj, on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, are dipping sliced cucumber and hog plum in dyed water before selling them to bus passengers, a Samakal investigation found. One dip keeps the slices green all day, and leftovers can be dipped again the next day.
Sellers Avir Hossain, Md Jewel and Md Omar Ali at Shimrail junction said passengers will not buy without the colour, and admitted they do it for a living while knowing it is an offence. A packet sells for Tk 10. A hawker who asked not to be named said Tk 20 of dye in a 20-litre bucket does for 20 kg of produce.
Hawkers buy the dye at shops in a market at Nayaati, Siddhirganj. One shop owner claimed it is harmless and food grade. The report does not establish what the dye is; local people allege that fabric dye or other chemicals are used.
Dr Md Imran Hossain, a medicine specialist at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said regularly eating produce treated with chemicals or dyes unfit for food can do serious harm. Public notices from the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority also call artificial colouring to make food look fresh a health risk.
Suraiya Saidun Nahar, the officer in charge of the authority's Narayanganj office, said a drive needs an executive magistrate but the matter will be taken seriously. S M Foyez Uddin, the Sadar upazila executive officer, said he would send a team and take action against anyone colouring produce.
The practice reportedly stopped for a while after a district administration drive about 20 years ago and resumed once monitoring lapsed.
Source: samakal
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