Laboratories will expand safe food activities: Food adviser

The country's efforts to ensure safe food will be significantly bolstered through the establishment of laboratory facilities, Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumdar said today (31 December).

He made the remarks at the inauguration ceremony of a mini-laboratory under the Capacity Building Project of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) in Dhaka this morning, according to a press release.

Highlighting the importance of infrastructure development for food safety, he said, "This laboratory is a crucial addition to our infrastructure. It will allow us to expand our activities towards ensuring safe food for all."

The adviser expressed optimism about addressing health issues arising from unsafe food. "I hope we can pay greater attention to ensuring that everyone has access to safe food and that no one faces health problems due to contaminated or unsafe food."

He emphasised the need to increase public awareness, foster social consciousness, and strengthen law enforcement to achieve the goal of food safety.

According to the press release, the newly inaugurated mini-laboratory is equipped to conduct various tests, including detecting pesticide residues in dried fish, vegetables, and fruits; identifying harmful potassium bromate in bread; measuring heavy metals in food items; identifying artificial colouring agents in food; testing water for mineral content; detecting antibiotic residues in milk; identifying toxic substances in honey; screening for microbes in food products; analysing lactose content in infant food; and detecting bacteria such as Salmonella and coliform in food products.

Prior to the inauguration, the adviser visited BFSA's mobile laboratory facilities which are operational in eight divisions across the country.

These mobile labs enable the on-the-spot collection and testing of food samples, enhancing the authority's capacity to monitor food safety in real-time.