photo by Andrew Biraj
The bananas arrive at Sadarghat before first light. One by one the trucks roar into the crammed Ahsanullah Road that charts the banks of the Buriganga river on Dhaka’s southern edge. The bananas, piled high in the hold, are offloaded into the numerous warehouses that line the streets. As the sky lightens up, the cargo is more visible. They are a deep green in colour and bitter to the taste. But by that same afternoon, miraculously, these same bananas will be bright yellow and sweet. As the trucks pull away an army of workers, spray-cans on their shoulders enter the warehouses and start spraying the fruits stacked on the floor. ‘It is a medicine that helps the banana ripen better and get a nice yellow colour,’ says one local wholesaler.
‘We don’t know what the name of the chemical is but it works like magic,’ he says. ‘Just go to one of the pharmacies in the Dhaka Medical College area and ask for medicine to ripe bananas,’ he adds. Visits to the neighbouring warehouses reveal that scores of banana wholesalers are using this same technique to transform cheaply bought unripe banana into a golden cargo, going on to supply it to Dhaka’s ever-growing appetite for sweeter, riper and bigger. Later in the morning, we visit one of the pharmacies in the DMCH area. They won’t say what the chemical is but sure enough, it is cheap and widely available. The chemical, it turns out, is Calcium Carbide, and is extremely hazardous to the human body because it contains traces of arsenic and phosphorous. Once dissolved in water, the carbide produces acetylene gas. Acetylene gas is an analogue of the natural ripening agents produced by fruits known as ethylene. Acetylene imitates the ethylene and quickens the ripening process. In some cases it is only the skin that changes colour, while the fruit itself remains green and raw. When the carbide is used on very raw fruit, the amount of the chemical needed to ripen the fruit has to be increased. This results in the fruit becoming even more tasteless, and possibly toxic.
As mobile court teams scour the city in search of adulterated food and break one horror story after another to the general public, the truth is becoming increasingly evident. There is very little that we eat in Dhaka that has not been tampered to look and taste better, even though the chemicals used may be the deadliest poisonous for the human body. The chemical fertiliser urea is used in our rice to make it whiter, fish in kitchen markets are stored in formaldehyde (used to preserve dead-bodies) to keep them fresh-looking, colours and sweeteners are injected into fruits, and
Recent studies by the Food and Nutrition Institute, University of Dhaka, have also found Escherichia coli (E-coli), Salmonella, and Shigella bacteria in restaurant food and street food in the city. Eating contaminated food may cause diarrhoea, dysentery and other diseases. ‘Finding bacteria is very common in the restaurant foods. But the more alarming thing is that the restaurant owners do not throw out the leftover oil from everyday cooking, using the same oil the next day. As a result the peroxide value of the oil increases and it becomes toxic ultimately,’ explains Professor Mowlah, director of the Institute.
A big part of the problem is a lack of awareness.
‘We do not throw out anything. Why should we throw out the leftovers? Even in households, they do not throw out the excess curry. Mostly people preserve it and eat it the next day, so do we,’ argues an outraged Abul Sattar, owner of a reputed eatery in Shahbagh.
The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) — Bangladesh’s only consumer rights group — confirms that wholesalers do indeed use urea fertiliser in rice to make it whiter. Comsumers who eat husk paddle processed rice (red rice) will also find themselves cheated, as artificially colored rice is also available in the market, say members of the watchdog. This is common knowledge, they say. ‘While the rice is being processed, they use urea fertilizer in the rice to make it look more attractive, thus increasing its sale value,’ said Miftaur Rahman, a local rice dealer in Kawran Bazar, who claims his products are clean.
Most of the red chilli powder used in the market is adulterated - in most cases the spices are mixed with brick dust. Fine sawdust is also often mixed with cumin and other ground spices, say CAB members. Honey is also frequently adulterated, as lab tests have found sugar syrup is often mixed with honey to enhance the sweetness. Nowadays, pure butter oil and ghee are also very rare in the market. Dishonest traders use a host of ingredients such as animal fat, palm oil, potato mash, and vegetable oil to produce fake butter oil. They even mix soap ingredients like steirian oil with ghee, to increase the proportions.
Rasogolla, kalojaam, and chamcham are the essential delicacies for all festivals in Bengali culture. But food and sanitation officers from the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) say most of these mouthwatering sweetmeats, despite looking attractive in the shop displays, are made with adulterated ingredients and produced in a filthy environment. In a survey conducted by DCC officials found that 100 percent of examined samples of Rasogolla, kalojaam, curds, and sandesh were adulterated. Bangladesh’s Pure Food Ordinance (1959) states that at least 10 per cent milk fat is mandatory in sweetmeat. But in most cases, the percentage of milk fat is not more than five per cent.
DCC sources explain that most sweetmeats in the country, including Dhaka City, are made with adulterated dough made from saccharin, flour and toxic colours. Traders also use soybean oil and vegetable oil instead of milk fat. Some sweetmeat makers from rural areas are unaware of the existence of food colouring and use only industrial dyes in their products. The dough makers in different parts of the country put sulphuric acid in hot milk to make it thicken quickly. ‘They first put a paste of ground rice into the milk, followed by sulphuric acid to turn the milk into a thick dough within minutes,’ say DCC officials.
An investigation at Sadarghat revealed that a huge portion of the milk and dough used in sweetmeats arrives in the city mostly by launch from Barisal, Chandpur, Munshiganj, Shariatpur, arriving wrapped in unclean dirty cloths on the deck of the launches.
In Dhaka City, famous sweetmeats brought from various parts of the country have been selling fast due to well-financed advertisement campaigns. Among these are Porabarir Chamcham, curds from Bogra, Rasogolla from Jessore, monda from Muktagachha, and Rosomalai from Comilla. ‘In most cases, these sweetmeat are not what they seem,’ says Abdullah, a worker at a city sweetmeat outlet. Sources at the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI) — the government agency responsible for enforcing standards and issuing permits for the manufacture of processed foods — admit that a wide variety of products such as soybean oil, butter oil and mustard oil are being sold in the market with fake BSTI seals. Producers and wholesalers also cheat buyers by using attractive labels like ‘100 percent cholesterol free’ or ‘original local ghee,’ even though such products are anything but this.
Last year, twelve popular juices were taken of market shelves and sent for testing to the BSTI. Of the 11 juices, which had certification from the BSTI, eight brands including Acme Orange Juice, Acme Mango Juice, Starship Orange Juice, Aarong Mango Juice, Pran Orange Juice, Top Mango Juice and Shezan Mango Juice did not meet the minimum standards. Sneha’s mango juice was apparently made from ingredients that did not even qualify it as a juice at all.
The CAB has over the years revealed a number of adulteration cases in the processed food and drink sector in the country. In 2003 it was responsible for exposing four condensed milk producers in the country, including Starship, Danish, Goalini, because there was no semblance of milk fat in any of the products. A stay order issued by the courts on the resulting cancellations of the licenses of these products has since stalled progress. Meanwhile the companies continue to produce what the CAB claims is adulterated condensed milk. In 2005 again, the CAB revealed that seven mineral water brands, including, Mum, Aqua, Pran, Fresh, Libra, Jibon and Duncan all qualified as drinking water, but by no stretch of the imaginations could be defined as ‘mineral water’.
BSTI sources admitted to New Age this week that wholesalers mix harmful chemicals, with crude soybean oil, to pass it off as mustard oil. Tea is being adulterated by excessive use of coloured sawdust and discarded tea. Ice cream has also been found to contain dyes and impure milk powder whilst bread and biscuits are made with low-quality flour.
In recent weeks, laboratory reports have revealed that fruits are ripened artificially using calcium carbide while traces of organo-phosphorus — an insecticide — has been discovered in vegetables in kitchen markets.
‘The nutritional elements that should be in fruits and vegetables, if adulterated with dyes and synthetic colours, are destroyed. Eventually the digestion of those poisonous fruits or vegetables may cause diarrhoea, dysentery and even death,’ says Professor Sagormoy Barma, a nutritionist at Dhaka University.
‘The long-term impact of eating those foods is cancer,’ Barma warns.
Meanwhile children are fast becoming the greatest casualty of the widespread adulteration. ‘If children don’t get the vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables to rebuild tissues, the result could be severe malnutrition says Professor MQK Talukder, a paediatrician at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH). ‘The most terrifying thing that can happen for not enriching a child’s body with the right nutritional elements are lack of growth and damage to central nervous system,’ Talukder says.
To illustrate his point Talukder cites the case of a child he treated recently. ‘A child, very fond of Chinese food, was brought by his parents with rashes on his skin; I suggested he stops eating out. Within a few days, the rashes vanished. The probable reason for this may have been colouring agents used in the food he ate,’ Talukder says.
Doctor A.R.M. Lutful Kabir, a child specialist at CMH adds that the worst result of consistent exposure to adulterated food could be cancer of the colon or the oesophagus among children. ‘The most likely symptoms we observe while treating a child for food poisoning or adulteration is headache and rashes on the skin,’ says the doctor. Pregnant woman are especially susceptible to such food adulteration. ‘The effects of adulterated food on a pregnant woman are much more serious and may be as diverse as having premature babies to the baby being born with congenital malformations,’ says Dr. Ferdousi Begum, a gynecologist at Dhaka’s BIRDEM.
The mother, she says, may also face problems with lactation. Studies have shown that mothers exposed to these toxic chemicals are not able to lactate as long as normal mothers can.
‘Long term effects on children may involve behavioural and social disorders like restlessness, dyslexia or even asthma, as well as neurological symptoms like convulsions,’ says Begum, echoing her colleagues’ concerns.
Meanwhile adulteration is flourishing because of a widespread breakdown in the government’s regulatory mechanism. Few effective measures are taken to prevent this pervasive adulteration even though the constitution makes the government responsible to ensure food safety and public health.
Section 18 (1) of the constitution, which deals with food, clearly states, ‘The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the improvement of public health as moving its primary duties, and in particular shall adopt effective measures to prevent the consumption…’
Food adulteration has increased because concerned officials, despite knowing about the epidemic of adulterated food, are powerless to stop it, claiming they do not have sufficient authority to rein in the powerful organised groups behind it. Meanwhile, thousands of cases they have filed can do little because of weak laws. The Bangladesh Pure Food Rules of 1967, the law addressing food, is now 38 years old, armed with such small fines that traders are hardly intimidated by it. The highest penalty for adulterating food is Tk 5,000. But the expenses involved in proving such cases in court and realising the penalties are much higher. ‘If we file a case, the defaulter does not even go to a pleader, as the fees of the pleaders are much higher than his penalty,’ said an official from the health directorate, requesting anonymity.
Food adulteration has also become rampant due to the inefficiency in government-regulated quality assurance practices.
Before going to commercial production, it is mandatory that producers secure a certificate from the BSTI. ‘We generally issue a one-year license with which a producer can make a number of batches depending on the scale of their production. Usually, the batch that is sent in for testing passes the tests, whereas the marketed products tend to fall below required standards,’ says A B M Abdul Howk, Director General of the BSTI.
But even this is a rose tinted interpretation of the events. Instead, most of the BSTI seals featured on products are fake, leaving the public in the dark about which is a quality product, and which is not.
Among the 143 enlisted products of BSTI, more than 54 food items are entitled to receive the standard certificate. These include everything from fruit and vegetable juice, to mustard oil. Among these products, hundreds in the market are being sold without any standard seals or with fake seals.
While food manufacturers allege that the BSTI is completely disinterested in the actual quality of their products and demand huge quantities in bribes to certify their quality, the BSTI points to its lean funding and poor logistics for the state of our food. ‘We need divisional level offices and mobile courts in all districts to be able to make sure that the standards of products BSTI has given license to, are maintained. We need to reach the places the products reach,’ says Howk.
In a case last year, a ghee producer in Lalbagh alleged that he had gone to BSTI on a number of occasions to seek certification but was turned back with implicit messages that nothing could be done unless more bribes were paid. ‘I will not deny that there may be a few such corrupt officials in our organisation,’ says Howk.
‘However, if such a thing had happened they should have lodged an official complaint to me, or at least to the ministry and address the issue. Only when they were charged with having adulterated food did they blame us,’ says Howk.
A dearth of manpower, evident in several agencies and regulatory bodies, is crippling the government’s efforts to check food adulteration. BSTI sources said that, despite performing their routine duties, they are unable to check all the products available in the market. Even they are aware that most of the seals seen in the market are fake. ‘The process is so lengthy that we can not check all the items available in the market. We do not have the manpower,’ says one of the directors working with the BSTI. Meanwhile, we continue to eat poison everyday because of poor, corrupt standards and profit-seeking companies.
BEACON OF ORGANIC EATING
photo by Al-Emrun Garjon
As pesticides and fertilisers gradually make their way into much of the agricultural produce in Dhaka’s kitchen markets, Shashya Prabartana, a wing of the Dhaka-based-NGO Prabartana is emerging as the sole beacon for healthy and organic agricultural produce in the country.
Selling everything from paddle-husked rice to organic vegetables, the little outlet in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur offers a wide array of food that is guaranteed to be fertiliser, adulteration and pesticide free.
The produce is an outcome of the Prabartana’s Nayakrishi Andolon, an independent project to promote organic farming, applying biodiversity based natural production of agricultural products. With over 25,000 farmers in its fold, the Nayakrishi Andolan applies traditional farming techniques 12 districts comprising Tangail, Cox’s Bazar, Pabna, Kushtia, Chapainawabganj, Kurigram, Sirajganj, Sherpur and Noakhali. Shashya Prabartana directly purchases the agricultural products from them and sells them in their outlet.
‘Farmers working with us save the extra bit of cost they would have incurred in buying pesticides and other artificial chemicals had they produced for the wholesale market,’ says Shahid H Shamim, director of Prabartana.
‘It is a confirmed market where the farmers only produce organic goods,’ says Shamim. ‘Besides, they have the technical support from Nayakrishi. Farmers are paid in advance to plough back their profit and make a fairly decent living. The cost of producing organic goods is comparatively low as because no artificial substances are required.
An official of the Prabartana cites the example of Nazir Shail rice which in the market is polished with candles to give it the glaze that attracts buyers. In its original form, the rice looks pale as it sits there in a drum at the outlet. ‘This tendency to polish the rice to make it shine is basically to convince the customer,’ says Feroz of Prabartana. ‘Customers are often to be blamed for harming themselves as they are more attracted to shiny rice, without considering how it came to be so.’
There isn’t full nutrition in any fruit grown artificially, Feroz explains. ‘While they may look better and bigger than any fruit organically produced, the latter has greater nutritional value,’ he says.
Nayakrishi highly forbids use of pesticides, chemical fertiliser and external inputs and prevents use of deep tube wells and extraction of ground water. On the other hand Nayakrishi educates its farmers into copying the forest and producing biodiversity.
It trains the farmers to make self reliant household, calculation of total yield of the household, community and eco-system, bringing the domesticated and semi-domesticated animals and birds into a farming household. Conserving seeds and genetic resources at household and community levels, persevering aquaculture and water resources are also elements of the Nayakrishi training objectives.
At least 17 types of rice are available at Shahshya Prabartana including Begun Bichi, Shaheb Chikon, Kali Jira, Chini Gura, Rajuni Pagol, Katari Atop, Lahaiya Tepiboro, Nazir Shail, Katari Bhog, Bori Lota, Kalu Bokhri, Digha, Pakri, Apcheha, Biroi, Binni and Shorshori. Besides, six types of lentils comprising Moshur, Mashkolai, Mugh, Aral, Motor and Boot are also available. Besides, the outlet also sells mustard oil, puffed rice (Muri), greens, pickles and parched paddy. These products being purely organic are sold at a rate higher than the market price for its quality and efforts invested, Feroz says.
– Saad Hammadi
BUT IS IT REALLY MILK?
photo by Al-Emrun Garjon
Three years after it first emerged that condensed milk produced by Bangladeshi manufacturers contained little or no milk and was in fact condensed vegetable fat, the companies are continuing to supply their spurious product to the market on the strength of a High Court stay order on legal action against them.
‘Brands like Starship, Danish, Goalini and Kwality are mostly producing condensed milk, which do not satisfy the ‘BDS 896: 1979’ code of the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI),’ said Shamsuzzoha, Information officer of Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh - Bangladesh’s only consumer rights group.
Under its ‘safe food programme’, the organisation had purchased five condensed milk brands from the open market on September 22, 2002. The brands were Danish, Starship, Goalini and currently defunct brands like Goala and Dutch Fresh. The five products were sent for testing to the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute, from where CAB authorities received the test results on October 28, 2002. The startling test results got a wave of publicity in the national dailies on December 11, 2002, along with warnings of the health hazards they pose ratified by 11 prominent health scientists. ‘The reports obviously caused agitation among the authorities of the brands,’ said Zoha, while describing the incident. Concerned by the reports, the concerned government authorities ordered the BSTI to do a test the brands a second time.
The four brands of condensed milk were again purchased from the market and tested at the BSTI. ‘It was found that all the brands are adulterated and do not satisfy the BDS Quality 896 for condensed milk production and sale,’ said Zoha. Based on this report, the Industries Ministry banned the production and sale of condensed milk in the market on January 23, 2003.
Again on December 17, 2002 the CAB purchased condensed milk brands Danish, Starship, Goalini and the currently defunct Dutch Fresh for testing. The brands were sent to the public health institute for testing. Zoha further explained that most of these brands like Starship & Goalini have bacterial counts which exceed the maximum standard bacterial level allowed in condensed milk. ‘From the test conducted by the Public Health Institute, it was found that these two brands have a bacterial count level of 76,000 and 25,000, respectively,’ he said. The maximum count of bacteria in a gram of condensed milk is 10,000.
‘Despite the numerous test results, these brands continue to sell their adulterated products taking advantage of the fact that authorities tend to avoid their responsibilities at investigating such products and taking measures in ensuring consumer rights,’ he says.
He explains that the ‘BDS 896:1979’ quality insists the need of actual cattle milk be condensed, mixed with sugar, then packaged and sold as condensed milk. According to the criteria, condensed milk should have a composition of 28 per cent solid milk, 8 per cent fat, 40 per cent sugar, 0.3 per cent lactic acid and count level below 10,000 bacteria in every gram of the milk.
The Milk and Dairy Product section committee of BSTI finalised the BDS standard for condensed milk on May 22, 1979. The quality was designed in accordance with the condensed milk manufacturing procedure discovered first by scientist Gail Borden in 1896. The committee had also kept in mind the necessity of the International Standards Organization (ISO) standards while formulating this particular standard. This standard was later approved by the Agriculture and Food Products Divisional Council of BSTI.
‘These condensed milk lack the basic nourishing factors that natural milk has,’ said Zoha.
He explained that natural milk consists of 80 to 90 per cent water. The rest includes protein, saturated fat, vitamin and calcium.
‘The most important element is lactose, a special type of galactose that aids digestion in the human system,’ he explained. The other elements in milk are albumin, globulin, potassium, sodium, iodine and sulphur. ‘All these elements make the consumption of a litre of milk equivalent to the consumption of 21 eggs, 12 kilograms of beef and 2.2 kilograms of bread by a human,’ he said.
‘As most of these brands are using vegetable fat and powdered milk to produce condensed milk, consumers are missing out from the consumption of ‘real’ condensed milk,’ he said. In a report published by CAB in December, 1995 it was found that Danish Condensed milk (Bangladesh) imports 125 metric tonne of powdered milk. When tested by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy commission it was found that the radioactivity levels in their milk is much higher than the stipulated limit.
In light of the CAB’s findings, the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) filed a writ petition with the High Court to constrain the mixture and thus sale of this particular amount of powdered milk. The high court verdict was against the sale and production of this powdered milk. ‘We still cannot tell whether the company abided by the high court verdict,’ says one CAB official. Along with powdered milk, the brands are using Hoye powder, water, sugar, artificial colour, flavour and vegetable fat to produce condensed milk.
But concerns are growing that the high level of bacteria in these products can cause serious problems for consumers. ‘With a count level higher than 10,000, consumers are likely to experience diarrhoea and other stomach disorders,’ says one of Dhaka’s top microbiologist. High radioactivity level can lead to various forms of cancer, he explains.
‘However, vegetable fat will not cause health hazards for consumers,’ he said.
Currently, 7,68,000 cans of condensed milk are sold daily. ‘The daily demand shows the massive consumption of condensed milk and thus the immense health hazard being faced by the nation,’ says one CAB official.
The crisis came into perspective recently when a parliamentary standing committee on public undertakings, at a meeting this month, reviewed allegations by CAB against Danish, Star Ship, Goalini and Kwality condensed milk companies. The committee recommended the government take legal action against these companies. Abdul Alim, the chairman of the standing committee told New Age, that the proportion of pulse is more than 2 per cent in condensed milk, which is against Bangladesh condensed milk standards.
‘According to the allegations, the companies are mixing extra quantity of pulse along with sub-standard adulterated ingredients in their milk,’ Alim said.
It was also pointed out by some committee members, at the meeting, that BSTI had a rather ineffective role in their fight against adulterated condensed milks.
‘But we had revoked the licenses of four brands in 2003 after receiving the directive from the industries ministry,’ says an official of BSTI when asked about the allegation.
He explained that soon after that particular verdict, the brands filed a writ petition with the High Court asking for a ‘stay order’ on the ban. ‘The high court gave them a two month stay order, which has been extended till date,’ he said.
– Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
A-Z OF ADULTERATED FOOD
Asthma
Caused by toxic dyes used in most Chinese resturants
Bananas
Chemicals calcium carbide and ethrel are used to artificially ripen Bananas. The other popular method is to ripen them through heating in a closed environment.
Coconut Oil
Acid value beyond permissible limit found in major brands.
Condensed Milk
Along with Star Ship, Fresh and Goalini, reportedly use vegetable fat instead of milk
Dyes
Eating foods containing industrial dyes and colours causes violent allergic reactions, respiratory problems, asthma, liver disorders and kidney dysfunction and bone marrow disorders. Nowadays, coal tar dyes are being used in sweetmeats.
Erythrosine
Red food colouring that can lead to tumour in thyroid gland, asthma, bronchitis and hyperactivity.
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde - normally used to preserve dead-bodies - is used to preserve fish bound for city markets.
Greens
Fresh greens, so abundantly available, are the best way to go as far as vegetables are concerned. Shashya Prabartana offers the finest, pesticide-free organic variety.
Hyperactivity
Hyperactivity is caused in children when they are repeatedly exposed to harmful food colouring such as Erythrosine and Brilliant Blue.
Iodine
Found in high quantities in most condensed milk brands. Indicate use of vegetable fat.
Keya Coconut Oil
Accused of containing twice the acid value permitted by BSTI in its regulations.
Lentils
Lentils are mixed with toxic colours to improve their colour and marketability.
Mustard Oil
Most mustard oil brands contain iron beyond permissible limits.
Neo-natal disorders
If pregnant women are exposed to toxins and chemicals there is a high possibility that her unborn child will suffer complications and health hazards while inside the womb.
Organic
Organic fruits and vegetables are increasingly becoming popular across the First World
Pesticides
When pesticides enter the body on a regular basis, they affect the liver until it is damaged permanently.
Quality Seal
Many products use forged and/or expired BSTI seals
Rice
A host of rice varieties available in the market are artificially whitened using the toxic fertiliser Urea
Soyabean Oil
Poorly produced Soyabean oil contains high levels of toxins which can lead to cancer
Tartrazine
Yellowish orange food colour that can lead to cancer, headaches, allergies such as asthma, inflammation, eye irritation and runny nose.
Unchallenged
Most adulterated products in the market go unchallenged by consumer groups because of a lack of consumer rights laws and the long-winded process of legal recourse.
Zero Control
The government and its agencies have almost zero powers to ensure quality and standards control.
