Dhaka_Tribune_WFSD_19 June 2019

Speaker: Concentrate on supply chain to ensure safe food

Figure: Shaheen Khan, chief executive officer of Meena Bazar, speaks at a seminar marking World Food Safety Day at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh, in Dhaka, on Tuesday, June 19, 2019 Dhaka Tribune

World Food Safety Day has been organized in Bangladesh for the first time 

Experts and stakeholders have urged the government to monitor each level of the food supply chain to secure safe food for all. They raised the demand at a seminar marking World Food Safety Day at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh, in Dhaka, on Tuesday. 

The Bangladesh Supermarket Owners Association (BSOA) and Bangladesh Food Safety Foundation jointly organized the event to celebrate the day—June 7—for the first time since the United Nations General Assembly declared It World Food Safety Day in 2018. 

Shaheen Khan, chief executive officer of Meena Bazar, said: “From the firm land to the dining table, food could be contaminated at any stage.” 

“There is no reasonable cause in fining a super shop for contaminating food, as shop owners do not produce those products ” he said. 

To ensure safe food, the government must establish a complete monitoring system for each step of the supply chain, he opined. 

Anwar Faruk, former agriculture secretary, said: “Every attempt—including operating mobile courts—will be fruitless if we do not monitor and maintain the supply chain properly.” 

Mustaq Hassan Md Iftekhar, former chairman of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority; Md Zakir Hossain, General Secretary of BSOA; Niaz Rahim, president of BSOA; representatives of several department stores; and senior government officials from the food and agriculture sector also participated in the discussion.