Country has no law controlling food ads

The country's two laws regarding food safety do not have provisions to control advertisements of edible products, said speakers at a discussion yesterday.

As advertisements significantly influence people's decisions, there should be a legal framework dictating guidelines of making advertisements, they added.

The discussion "Consumers' Rights to Healthy Food: Issues related to Agro Food" was organised by Bangladesh Safe Agro Food Efforts Foundation (BSAFE) in Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) auditorium in the capital marking World Consumer Rights Day.

While the Safe Food Act, 2013, has no provisions regarding advertisements, the Consumer-Right Protection Act, 2009, also does not have elaborate guidelines on advertisements, said Ataur Rahman Miton, general secretary of BSAFE. While urging strict implementation of the Safe Food Act, he also pointed out that ill-equipped mobile courts can lead to unnecessary hassles of the people. The mobile courts need to have mobile laboratories capable of detecting food contamination precisely, he stressed.

Shah Monir Hossain, former DG of the Directorate General of Health Services, stressed the need for developing a network across the country to monitor food adulteration.

Md Monirul Islam, director (nutrition) of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, said due to fear of ingesting harmful chemicals, people are often deprived of micronutrients by avoiding fruits and vegetables.