A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus to take action to address the presence of various harmful chemicals in food and its context, and to prevent food adulteration.
The meeting was held at the State Guest House Jamuna on Sunday (7 December 2025) afternoon. Agriculture and Home Affairs Advisor Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Food Advisor Ali Imam Majumder, Health Advisor Nurjahan Begum, Fisheries and Livestock Advisor Farida Akhtar, National Security Advisor Khalilur Rahman, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor Sayedur Rahman, Principal Secretary to the Chief Advisor Siraj Uddin Mia, Secretaries of the concerned ministries and Director General of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) SM Ferdous Alam, Director General of National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate Faruk Ahmed, Chairman of Bangladesh Safe Food Authority (BFSA) Zakaria and Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Dr. Md. Mujibur Rahman.
The meeting discussed in detail about foodborne diseases, risks related to contamination and what to do to deal with this crisis.
The Chief Advisor said, “We know about the existence of various contaminations in food; we have to take measures to deal with it.” Our children, parents, and relatives are all victims. We all have to work together to deal with this crisis in our own interests. After discussing the implementation aspects, we will decide which ones are urgent to start now. We will take urgent initiatives in this regard immediately.’
The Chief Advisor has instructed everyone concerned to send written proposals regarding the implementation of necessary activities to deal with the food contamination crisis within the next one week.
Some information and data were presented by the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority in the meeting. They said that according to the World Health Organization’s research, one in 10 children gets sick at least once a year due to foodborne diseases. 1/3 of children infected with foodborne diseases die. Foodborne diseases affect 600 million children in the world and 30 million children in Bangladesh every year.
The Food Safety Authority said that food can contain four types of contaminants. Heavy metals, pesticide-disinfectant residues, radioactivity, and biocontaminants. Last fiscal year, 1713 samples were tested and so far this year, 814 samples have been tested. Lead/lead chromate was found in excess. Out of a total of 180 samples, lead was detected in 22.
In a joint study by Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Agricultural University, and UMEA Sweden, 300 types of medicines, 200 types of pesticides, and 16 types of PFAS were detected by collecting 87 water and 23 fish samples from different parts of the country.
A UNICEF survey revealed that 35 million children in Bangladesh are infected with lead infection. Highlighting this information, Chairman of the Safe Food Authority Zakaria said, “Lead enters the human body and accumulates in the brain, liver, kidneys, bones, and teeth. Since children’s bones are soft, lead goes directly to the brain. As a result, children’s mental development is hampered.”
In addition, the study found lead infection in 5 percent of pregnant women. He said that a 10-year action plan has been taken in the plan of the Ministry of Environment to reduce lead infection.
Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor, Sayedur Rahman, said that all public universities in Bangladesh have labs. Students also have the capacity to conduct such tests. Action can be taken very quickly by conducting a comprehensive study on the amount of lead in food.
In the meeting, officials of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture presented various information about harmful substances entering the human body through poultry, dairy products and fish. They said that uncontrolled drugs are used in poultry farms. If antibiotics are given to chickens, they remain for 7 to 28 days. If chickens are marketed before 28 days have passed, unnecessary antibiotics can enter the human body through the chicken meat.
They said that although precautions are taken in these matters in large institutions, some clandestine companies are secretly operating poultry farms in an uncontrolled manner, avoiding the supervision of the authorities.
The meeting discussed what measures have been taken to bring poultry farms under surveillance and prevent the use of illegal pesticides in agriculture, and what other measures can be taken.
The food advisor said, “While ensuring adequate food, sometimes the aspect of whether what we are eating is safe is being ignored. The media can play a role in creating public awareness on this issue. Food safety is an important issue. He also said that these topics need to be included in textbooks.”
