Ensuring nutritious and safe food is the big challenge Zannatul Mouwa Naz

Health is the root of all happiness and beauty. All the achievements of life without good health are in vain. Just as food is needed for survival, healthy food is needed for good health. Food that is not harmful to the body but the body’s growth, corrosion and disease prevention is therefore healthy or safe food. Safe food is a basic human right. Eating safe food has now become a challenge. There is no substitute for safe and nutritious food for sustainable life and good health. Unsafe food is not only a health risk factor, but also one of the most common causes of disease in the body. Pure, safe and nutritious food is essential for building a healthy and prosperous nation.

Artificial food is a normal thing in modern life. Distributing this food in a normal and safe condition from adulteration and other contaminants is now a global problem. Although unpleasant, it is true that almost all the food in the country is adulterated. Healthy food is out of our reach today. All the people of the country today are terrified of adulteration in food. Public life is under threat today due to the violence of food adulteration.
If we do not give safe food, the nation will be crippled one day. Three lakh people are getting cancer every year in the country due to adulteration of food alone. The number of kidney patients is two lakhs. The number of people suffering from diabetes is 1 lakh 50 thousand. Besides, the number of handicapped children with physical complications of pregnant mothers is about 1.5 million in the country. Epidemics have taken shape in countries where food is adulterated and counterfeit. 70 percent of food in Dhaka city and 50 percent in rural areas are adulterated. According to a research source, adulterated food is behind 33 percent of diseases in our body. The state must now take effective action against adulterated food and counterfeit drugs. Otherwise, it will be difficult to deal with this situation. Food adulteration is not only a physical harm but also a national impediment to food adulteration. Due to adulteration of food, complex diseases like cancer, liver cirrhosis, kidney failure, heart disease, asthma etc. are spreading rapidly in the country.

The law was enacted in 2013 to ensure safe food. The Safe Food Authority was formed in 2015. In addition to creating anti-adulteration awareness, they are working to ensure safe food. There are anti-adulteration operations of law enforcement. Even after that, the prevalence of adulteration is not decreasing. The Special Powers Act of 1974 provides for the death penalty for adulteration of food and sale of adulterated food. We hope that the anti-corruption campaign will be tough. Proper enforcement of the law must also be ensured. It is hoped that the crackdown on counterfeiters will be greatly reduced if there are regular crackdowns on counterfeit goods and unscrupulous traders. However, there is no alternative to awareness to prevent adulteration. It is not possible to stop adulteration by law alone. For this we have to build a social movement.

Ensuring safe food for all is not possible for the government alone. According to statistics, 2.5 million small or informal traders and 18 ministries in the country are directly or indirectly involved in safe food management. In addition, there are about 48 organizations in the country, which are involved in food. There are about 120 laws and policies under these organizations. The Food Safety Authority is working to ensure that there are laws in place to ensure safe food at all levels. There are also 64 safe food courts in 64 districts and eight divisional towns.

Qualitative change is needed in safe food management. Farmers need to be interested in farming in a modern and healthy way. Apart from this, it is necessary to work in a coordinated manner by developing communication and relationship of one organization with another. Education and training on safe food is needed to raise awareness. There is a need to create a widespread demand for safe food through awareness.

If we can’t produce safe food, we can’t even think of providing safe food. Chemicals are being used in agriculture. As a result, pesticides are entering the human body through various foods including vegetables and fruits, which are very harmful to the body. Farmers need to be made aware of this. Tests have shown that pesticide residues are present in 10-15 percent of vegetable samples. And above the tolerable level set by the European Commission, the rate stands at 5-9 percent. This means that in an accredited laboratory of international standard, 70-75 percent of the samples cannot be detected under the current market management. Farmers need to know the latest information on which pesticides have been banned, which have been approved by the government and the rules and regulations for the use of pesticides. Awareness needs to be raised to prevent this pollution.

Studies have shown that if properly washed and cooked, if any pesticide residue is present in the vegetables, 70-80 percent of it will be lost or spoiled. The production environment affects the quality of food.

Ensuring safe food and nutrition for the people is now two challenges for Bangladesh. Increasing agricultural production will ensure safe and nutritious food supply. By increasing investment in the productive sector, the educated population needs to be turned into skilled human resources. In many cases the farmer is not getting a fair price for his produce. If we can add value and increase exports through processing, the country’s market will also expand. The farmer will get a fair price for his crop. Most of the 160 million people of the country cannot afford to buy essential agricultural products including vegetables, eggs and milk with their income. Therefore, despite the potential, the market for the desired agricultural products in the country is not expanding.

In addition to raising awareness, we need to work on safe food production and market management. From production to processing, storage and marketing and serving at the dining table, the rules for ensuring safe food need to be fully followed. Otherwise, safe food can become unsafe.

Promoting safe food must be done in cities, towns and every village. The development of civilization is also facilitated when the nutritional needs of the family are met. Lack of nutrition hinders the development of normal human thinking and consciousness. Healthy people are needed to bring people back to normal activities. It is important to meet the nutritional needs of the family to create healthy people. Which deserves easier than the implementation of the concept of ‘one house one farm project’. It is possible to meet one’s own nutritional needs by utilizing every inch of land without worrying about the size of a house or farm, and that money can be spent on the practice of advanced mindfulness by earning extra income. Cultivation and conservation of vegetables, fruits, flowers, medicinal plants, fish, poultry, quail birds, pigeons and cows, goats, rabbits and bees Cottage industries, mushroom cultivation and processing, etc. cultivations. Thus, family agriculture can be the mainstream of food, nutrition, education, health, finance and culture in rural Bengal.

Safe food is needed for everyone. Similarly, to ensure safe food, everyone has to fulfill their responsibilities consciously. Awareness is needed at every stage of product production, storage, supply and marketing to ensure safe food. It is possible to ensure safe food through the joint efforts of all. Safe food can play a big role in our achievement, because it is through safe food that we get the driving force of the economy and healthy, strong, hardworking and efficient human resources.

The writer is a student of Environmental Science and Engineering at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Trishal, Mymensingh, Bangladesh, Email: zannatnaz19@gmail.com