RAMPANT food adulteration is a grave and persistent public health threat, with unsafe food turning what sustains life into a slow and silent agent of disease and death. Recent laboratory tests by the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority show how deeply the problem has penetrated the food chain. Of the 15 bread samples tested, 11 contained potassium bromate, a banned chemical known to cause cancer and kidney damage. In July鈥揘ovember 2024, the authority tested 450 food samples and found 90 to be harmful because of various forms of adulteration. Toxic and low-grade substances are routinely mixed into food to enhance colour, taste and shelf life, serving commercial interests at the expense of public health. The contamination extends far beyond bread: fruit and vegetables have been found to contain heavy metals such as lead, chromium and cadmium while earlier tests detected coliform and faecal coliform bacteria in a majority of milk samples. From formalin in fish to textile dyes in sweets and vegetables, almost every common food item sold on the market carries the risk of poisoning. Physicians warn that prolonged exposure to these chemicals is contributing to the sharp increase in non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, kidney and liver disorders and heart disease.
The human cost of food adulteration is already grave and steadily rising. Results of the recent tests are clear evidence that toxic chemicals have entered daily diets. Such exposure is intensifying the already high burden of non-communicable diseases, which now account for about two-thirds of all deaths. More than 1.6 lakh new cancer cases are reported each year while around 1.3 crore people live with diabetes and millions more suffer from kidney, liver and heart ailments linked to long-term chemical exposure. Microbial contamination persists as well, with earlier research detecting coliform and faecal bacteria in milk, showing that adulteration is both chemical and infrastructural. The problem remains unsolved because enforcement is fragmented across several agencies that lack coordination, human resources and laboratory capacity while monitoring is sporadic rather than systematic. Scientists have for long urged the creation of a national surveillance system for high-risk food items, regional laboratories equipped with rapid detection kits and traceability requirements for commercial bakeries. These scientific measures must be coupled with legal reform, stricter penalties, unified oversight and ring-fenced funding for market surveillance suited to dense food networks. Only a coherent, well-resourced system can reverse this nationwide slow poisoning.
The government should treat food adulteration as a national health emergency rather than a routine offence. Stronger coordination among regulatory agencies, regular market surveillance, harsher penalties for offenders and public awareness are urgently needed. Ensuring safe food is not only a constitutional duty but also vital to protecting health and human capital.
