Poor standards of food safety stand in way of exports

Summary:

• Sweden recently suspended import of Bangladeshi puffed, chinigura rice
• Other EU-banned items include turmeric powder, shrimps
• GAP guideline formulated in 2020 not implemented yet
• No international standard testing lab in Bangladesh
• Agriculture export earnings stood at over $1 billion in last two fiscal years

One after another, food and agriculture products are facing a ban from the European Union, a major market for Bangladesh's vegetables and fruits, following detection of elements hazardous to health in export consignments at different times.

The latest clamp down has come from Sweden on puffed rice and the aromatic chinigura rice supplied by several reputed companies of Bangladesh because of the presence of two chemicals – carbendazim and tricyclazole, elements found in pesticides – exceeding the allowable limits.

Industry people blame a lack of good agricultural practices and the absence of international standard testing labs for such exports of sub-standard food products to different countries.

The list of products that were already banned by the EU at different times include turmeric powder, shrimps and a few other food and agriculture products.

AB Global Enterprises chief Amirul Huda informed the Bangladesh Embassy in Sweden about the presence of carbendazim and tricyclazole in rice and puffed rice imported from Bangladesh.

"Instead of concealing the matter, it is better to discuss the solutions. Otherwise, Bangladeshi agri export to the EU may face a ban. India and Pakistan had faced similar issues, but they overcame it," he told the embassy.

Subsequently, Bangladesh Embassy Councillor in Sweden and Head of Chancery Amreen Jahan wrote to the foreign ministry in the first week of October, notifying import suspension of puffed rice and chinigura rice from Bangladesh.

In July last year, China resumed the import of live crabs and eels from Bangladesh. Earlier, the country had suspended such imports, citing the presence of excessive harmful substances in them. But the world's second largest economy is yet to lift the ban on sourcing agricultural products and frozen food from Bangladesh as local exporters cannot meet requirements on quality control and certificate verification.

On the other hand, Japan found aflatoxin contamination in chanachur imported from Bangladesh, while Saudi Arabia has maintained its embargo on farm-raised fishes.

Exporters fear that the EU might impose a complete ban on all Bangladeshi food and agriculture products if the presence of harmful substances continues.

To boost exports of agricultural products, the agriculture ministry formulated the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Policy in 2020 in line with International Organisation for Standardisation requirements, but it is yet to take effect at field level.

Besides, as there is no food testing laboratory of international standards in Bangladesh, including vegetables, many export products end up found substandard after getting tested in export destinations.

Buyers from various countries, including Europe, require certification at every level from production to freight in terms of importing agricultural and food products, something not available in Bangladesh. As a result, Bangladesh cannot capitalise on a huge potential for exports of food and agricultural products.

Kamruzzaman Kamal, director of Bangladeshi multinational consumer goods company Pran-RFL Group, said when lead was found in Bangladeshi turmeric export abroad, they did not even know that turmeric could contain lead. 

"Then we worked on it and fixed it eventually. But it is still not possible to test for lead in Bangladesh," he told The Business Standard. 

Like lead in turmeric, Kamruzzaman Kamal suspects the Bangladeshi exporters are unaware that puffed rice and rice could contain the chemical residues, thanks to no arrangements for maintaining the Good Agricultural Practice or GAP.      

"As we do not have arrangements for the certification, we have to do the testing from a third country like Singapore. Besides, we often have to export vegetables with the mark of our neighbouring countries," he added.     

Parvez Saiful Islam, chief operating officer of Square Food and Beverage Ltd, told TBS that residues found in puffed rice and rice could be traced back to the soil. 

"There is no scope for applying them directly to the items," he added.

The top official of Square Food said sometimes local test results and European test results differ in a few consignments. "The importing countries know about it. Therefore, those minor incidents do not hurt the overall trade." 

Professor Md Abdul Alim, member of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, said carbendazim and tricyclazole are found in pesticides.

"They are less likely to be in food. But if they are found in food items now, we need to verify it. Before that, it is not possible to say why it happened," he told TBS. 

In FY21 and FY22, exports of agricultural and agro-processed products raked in more than $1 billion.

There is a central packing house at Shyampur in Dhaka for quality control of agricultural products to be sent to foreign markets. The facility has a modern lab but a manpower crisis hinders the lab quality control.