Laws for Everday Life
Adulteration of food and consumer protection
Oli Md. Abdullah Chowdhury
As summer approaches, there is abundance of fruits in the market. Size, shapes and colours of fruits apparently attract buyers despite knowing the fact that many of the summer fruits contain substances detrimental to health. In the past, law enforcing agencies launched drives against traders involved with adulteration. Situation though improved for the time being, change did not sustain. Let alone fruits, adulteration of food has become a common practice. It has been reported in The Daily Star on May 11 that unadulterated food items have become alarmingly rare in the market these days. Some wholesalers even go so far that they do not hesitate to mix brick dust, soap ingredients and even textile dyes in the food items. There has been prevalence of diseases related to kidney and gastric in recent times due to the consumption of low-grade food items.
Laws regarding adulteration of food
There are several laws regarding food adulteration in the country. The Pure Food Ordinance 1959 is one of the old laws aimed to prevent food adulteration. In section 6(a) of the Ordinance, use of poisonous or dangerous chemicals or ingredients or additives or substances like calcium carbide, formalin, pesticides (DDT), PCBS oil or intoxicated food colour or flavouring matter in any food which may cause injury to human body was prohibited. Readers are well aware of the wide spread use of formalin even though the use of formalin was already prohibited in the law enacted in 1959. There is also a provision in the Ordinance to allow the government to establish as many food courts, as it deemed necessary in each district and in metropolitan areas. Lack of resources and weak implementation of the law failed to ensure regular supply of pure food in the country.
Current government enacted Consumer Right Protection Act (CRPA) after slightly modifying the original piece drafted by the caretaker government. However, the law is hardly practiced and the proposed consumer forum as per the law is still to be formed in all areas. Interestingly, a bench of the High Court Division directed the authorities concerned to file cases against people responsible for the use of chemicals in fruits under the Special Powers Act, 1974.
Acts against consumer
Acts against consumer have been described in CRPA. Acts against consumer include selling or proposing to sell adulterated food or medicine knowingly. Acts against consumer also include selling or proposing to sell products containing hazardous substance to human health barred by law. Therefore, sale of adulterated foods or contaminated fruits are acts against consumer. There is provision for punishment in the CRPA for acts against consumer.
High Court Division verdict
In response to a Public Interest Litigation, the High Court Division recently has asked authorities including BSTI and RAB to monitor fruit depots in Dhaka in order to prevent the sale of contaminated fruits. The court has also asked everyday for tests of fruits to be conducted at wholesale depots in the capital.
To conclude, lack of progress in implementing CRPA is really frustrating. In December 2009, the parliamentary standing committee on commerce ministry expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in enforcing the CRPA. Despite promises made by the concerned minister, practical steps have hardly been made. Activation of consumer forum at the grassroots is still a far cry and consumers are simply left at the mercy of sellers.
The writer is a human rights worker.
