All divisions in Bangladesh to get food screening capacity in 2 years: BFSA chief

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The Bangladesh Food Safety Authority is optimistic about expanding its food testing capacity across all divisions of the country in the next two years.
To achieve this goal, the BFSA has prioritised the establishment of a reference laboratory in Dhaka, seven laboratories at the divisional level and the procurement of eight mobile food testing laboratories.
BFSA chairman Abdul Kayowm Sarker shared his plan to scale up the country’s food screening capacity in an interview with New Age on January 26 ahead of observing National Safe Food Day on February 2, the day the BFSA came into existence in 2015.
This is the fifth time the BFSA is observing the day, though on a limited scale, because of the pandemic that has repeatedly disrupted the activities of the safe food regulatory authority since Covid-19 emerged on March 8, 2020.
This year the Safe Food Day slogan is ‘Safe food and health guideline for good health.’
‘We will have a reference laboratory built in Dhaka in a year,’ said Kayowm, adding that each of the seven other divisions will have a food testing laboratory in the next two years.
Besides, eight mobile food testing laboratories — capable of carrying out chemical, physical and microbiological analysis of food — are being procured to take the food testing capacity to the grassroots level, he said.
The BFSA has already appointed food safety officers in all divisions but is relying on the health ministry for the services of food safety inspectors, who are trained in collecting food samples for testing.
‘Just when we were planning to ramp up our activities leaving behind the memories of Covid-19, yet another wave has hit us,’ said the BFSA chief.
The pandemic, followed by repeated restrictions on movement, has seriously hampered the national safe food campaign on monitoring and awareness building leaving the public expectation unfulfilled so far, he also said.
Food continues to be adulterated despite years of monitoring and awareness campaign, said Kayowm, adding that the BFSA, along with other government agencies, has conducted mobile courts as well to punish dishonest businesspeople.
But the mobile courts have achieved very little, he admitted.
‘Many businesspeople still put profit ahead of public health. But the main problem is the general lack of awareness of safe food among people,’ said Kayowm.