The orange and vermicelli sold in the Dhaka city markets are all treated with formalin, said a test report by green rights activists on Sunday.
The report says formalin has been detected in 82 of mangoes, 91 per cent of bananas, 59 per cent of apples, 95 per cent of grapes, 77 per cent of dates, 75 per cent of tomatos, 20 per cent of cucumbers, 60 per cent of aubergines, 90 per cent of noodles and 100 per cent of vermicelli and oranges.
Save the Environment Movement released the report at a press conference on ‘formalin test report on ifter, fruit and food’ at its office.
The organisation secretary, Md Abdus Sobhan, said that from June 13 to July 26, Save the Environment Movement conducted a survey by collecting samples from 29 areas of the capital and tested them by chromotropic acid and Z-300 formaldehyde meter.
The collected samples of mango, banana, malta, apple, date, grape, tomato, aubergine, cucumber, vermicelli and noodles.
The test report said that among the 263 food samples, formalin was present in 215 samples which were 82 per cent of total samples.
The report says formalin is used in 82 per cent of mangoes, 91 per cent of bananas, 59 per cent of apples, 95 per cent of grapes, 77 per cent of dates, 75 per cent of tomatos, 20 per cent of cucumbers, 60 per cent of aubergines, 90 per cent of noodles, 100 per cent of vermicelli and oranges.
He said that from basic food items to special items like vermicelli of Eid or ifter items of Ramadan are adulterated with hazardous chemicals.
Formalin is applied to fish for preservation; calcium carbide to fruits to ripen, artificial fragrance is applied to flowers, burnt engine oil is used to fry jelabi, brick dust in chilli powder, urea to whiten rice and puffed rice; sawdust in loose tea; soap in Ghee; and artificial sweetener, coal tar, and textile dyes in sweetmeats, said chairman of the organisation Abu Naser Khan.
He said greed for quick money and moral degradation among food traders have led to today’s alarming situation.
He said at present in the country a total two crore people were suffering for kidney diseases.
He demanded speedy approval of the Safe Food Act in the next parliament session and proper implementation of the act.
There should be a provision that formalin should be imported through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, which will sell formalin to those businessmen who have government licence.
He said the government should empower and strengthen National Board of Revenue so that they could examine formalin and other chemical of imported food items during import.
-With New Age input
