Supply of safe food still a big challenge for country: Amu

Ensuring the supply of safe food is still a big challenge for the country and the government has made steady efforts to ensure food security for the entire country, said industries minister Amir Hossain Amu.  Now, people always remain in a state of suspicion as to whether the food items they eat every day are safe. We all should work concertedly on such a vital issue like ensuring safe foods for everyone, urged the minister.

The Minister made the call while addressing the inaugural session of a two-day "Bangladesh Food Security Conference 2017" at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the city on Wednesday.

A number of issues, under the theme of "Protecting Consumers: A Shared Responsibility" were discussed in the conference. In the inauguration, food minister Advocate M Qamrul Islam attended as special guest while BFSA chairman Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque was in the chair. 

Referring Bangladesh as a role model in attaining food security Amir Hossain Amu said, "The Parliament has passed the Food Safety Act in 2013 and there are numerous regulatory bodies to enforce it." Taking about halal food the industries minister said, "The demand for halal food is increasing by 10.8 percent in the world. The amount of halal industry was $795 billion in 2014 which will be $3.7 trillion in 2019."

"Bangladesh can use the potentiality by establishing more halal industries as the demand for halal foods is in an upward trend and they can also supply safe food in the domestic market," he added. He went on to say the government was also providing 20 percent subsidy in the agro processing sector to encourage the entrepreneurs of this sector. 

Amu has also said the government has included agro processing industries and agro machineries industries as priority sectors in the National Industrial Policy 2016. A taskforce has been formed for developing the agro processing sector as well.

Food secretary M Kaikobad Hossain, BSTI director general M Siful Hasib and chief technical advisor for Bangladesh of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Naoki Minamiguchi along with delegates from different arenas were also present at the conference.

Speaking as special guest food minister M Qamrul Islam has said with collaboration of 18 ministries and 480 organizations, the government is running a massive program across the country and safe food courts have already set up at district level to ensure the supply of safe foods. 

The conference has been jointly organized by Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), along with Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), Ministry of Food and Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Ministry of Industry and the collaboration of 19 local and multinational companies.

-Shaporan Haque