Published: 12:46 AM, 10 July 2026
'Govt steps up crackdown on food adulteration'
State Minister for Food Md Abdul Bari on Thursday told Parliament that the government has intensified its efforts to curb food adulteration through stricter inspections, mobile court drives, laboratory testing and public awareness campaigns.
Responding to a written question from treasury bench MP Md Mustafizur Rahman Babul (Jamalpur-3), he said the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has implemented a wide range of initiatives between February and May 2026 to ensure safe food for consumers across the country, UNB reports.
The state minister said the BFSA, a statutory body under the Ministry of Food, has been conducting regular market inspections, mobile court drives, food sample collection and laboratory testing under the Safe Food Act, 2013.
According to him, BFSA officials from its headquarters as well as district and metropolitan offices inspected 6,444 food establishments and markets during the period to prevent the sale of adulterated food.
To strengthen enforcement, 171 mobile courts were conducted under the Safe Food Act, resulting in legal action against food safety violations.
Abdul Bari said 670 food samples were tested at government-approved laboratories, while another 3,574 samples were examined through mobile laboratories and 4,938 samples through mini laboratories for on-the-spot testing.
He also highlighted efforts to improve food safety practices among businesses. He said 3,340 food handlers engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of economically and geographically important food products, including mangoes, dried fish and date molasses, received food safety training.
As part of public awareness initiatives, the BFSA organised 15 seminars, workshops and awareness programmes and conducted campaigns at 94 general and madrasah educational institutions, reaching around 9,400 students, the state minister said.
In addition, 51 courtyard meetings involving 2,390 homemakers were held to promote safe food handling and consumption practices, he said.
Abdul Bari said the BFSA also expanded its mass awareness campaign through electronic and print media. Four television advertisements on food safety were aired for a total of 224 minutes on government and private television channels.
Besides, 22 public awareness notices covering issues such as adulteration of lentils, the use of harmful chemicals in food, hazardous substances in molasses and the health risks associated with excessive consumption of fried foods were published in 69 national newspapers to educate consumers and food business operators.
