Bangladesh lags behind in food exports for failure to maintain standards

Bangladesh cannot benefit from exporting food and food products because of its failure to maintain international standards, said Sanjay Dave, a former chairman of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international body for setting standards and guidelines for safe food, at a discussion in Dhaka on Thursday.

"Global exports of agri products have increased from $22 billion to $43 billion in a span of 15 years due to maintaining Codex standards," Dave said in a keynote presentation at the event organised by the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority to mark National Food Safety Day.

"However, Bangladesh did not properly participate in international meetings, and thus, it is far behind the neighbouring countries in terms of standard maintenance," he added.

The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has thus far served as the focal point for Codex but the Food Safety Authority has now been recommended for the role. Accordingly, it is developing various policies to ensure food safety.

Speaking at the event, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumdar termed those who adulterate food "silent killers".

"We need to reach out to those who are doing this. Everyone should build a social movement against them," he said while inaugurating a hotline for the Food Safety Authority.

Anyone can report any suggestion or complaint regarding food safety by calling the toll-free hotline number 16155. It will be open from 8am to 12 noon.

The food minister said, "We want to ensure safe food in one or two years, not 10–20 years. Quality food is needed to build a smart Bangladesh. That's why smart agriculture technology needs to be developed, which is quite challenging but not impossible."

He said there is a question about colours beings used in food. In many cases, the colours meant for clothes are used in food items because food-grade colours are expensive. 

"Traders say people do not want to eat food at such a high price. But that cannot be allowed. Businessmen who are doing these things also need to think about people," he added.

The minister said, "We can build a revolution if we want, as in the case of edible oil. Due to the high price of soybeans, there has been a lot of mustard cultivation this year. Alternatives are being developed.

"This time maybe we can meet 20-25% of our demand with mustard. By doing this, we can remove the lack of confidence in the quality of food in the country."

Food Secretary Md Ismiel Hossain said, "There are questions about the quality of our food and food products. As many countries do not accept our certification because of our failure to maintain standards, we are lagging behind in exporting food items to the global market. Some countries have even returned our products.

"We have to set the standard for the international market and the local market. There is no alternative."