World Food Safety Day inspires consolidated action on foodborne illness in Bangladesh

There are few statistics on the burden of foodborne disease in Bangladesh, according to the FAO-implemented programme, “Improving food safety in Bangladesh.” But what we do know is that unsafe food is a widespread and pervasive issue in the country, with diarrhoeal diseases, enteric fever and hepatitis presenting as the most prevalent foodborne diseases. So, the UN’s designation of a World Food Safety Day, to be celebrated annually on 7 June, was a clear signal to Bangladeshi food safety activists that the time had come to tackle the matter head on.

The Bangladesh Food Safety Foundation (BFSF) was founded in 2019 upon the declaration of World Food Safety Day under the slogan “united for safer food.” It is a civil society and multisectoral platform of sector leaders, scientists, regulators and consumer rights activists determined to raise public awareness and ensure training in and regulation of food safety practices in the food chain. Their aim is to ensure safe food for all Bangladeshi citizens, through full and comprehensive implementation of the Food Safety Act 2013, which was formulated with assistance from the FAO office in Dhaka.

This year for World Food Safety Day, the organization, with backing from the Bangladesh Supermarket Association, is planning a full schedule of discussions in an online event that will include representatives from many sectors and disciplines, as well as invitees from the Government of Bangladesh and international agencies, such as FAO and WHO.

The Bangladesh Food Safety Foundation is headed by Mustak Hassan Md Iftekhar,  former Chairperson of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority.

Read more: http://www.fsfbd.org/