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11
3 authors, including:
1
Zubair Khalid Labu; 1AK Mohiuddin; 2M.A Bake
1
Department of Pharmacy, World University of Bangladesh (WUB), Dhaka-1215, Bangladesh
*2
Product Development officer, Gonoshasthaya Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Mirzanagar, Savar, Dhaka-
1344.
zubair.labu@yahoo.com; *abdul.bake@yahoo.com
Abstract
Food is the major source of energy in humans as well as animals. Foods are materials taken into
the body by different route which provide nourishment in the form of energy or in the building of
tissues. Food contaminants are substances that make food unfit for human consumption. Examples
include bacteria, toxic chemicals, carcinogens, teratogens and radioactive materials. The purpose
of these studies is to find out the food contaminants which are used in different purposes available
in Bangladesh and contaminants detection method. After survey we found that Dhaka is the main
city where food contamination by various contaminants in higher percentage. This contamination
done by manmade, industrial discharge, poisonous water etc. Government of Bangladesh taking
various necessary steps to stop this contamination.
Dhaka city now alone generates 3500-4000 tons of solid wastes per day from industrial discharge,
fertilizers, fossil fuels, sewage sludge and municipality wastes and they are the major sources of
heavy metals in soils and subsequent uptake by crops, vegetables and other food items causing
serious health hazards to human beings. A significant transfer of heavy metals like arsenic,
cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, zinc, molybdenum and vanadium took place
from soils to vegetables (spinach, tomato and cauliflower) grown in industrially polluted soils of
Konabari at Gazipur and Keraniganj in Dhaka. In Bangladesh, industrial wastes and effluents are
being discharged randomly on soils, into canals, rivers, along the road sides or in the vicinity of
the industrial areas without any treatment where polluted river water is being used for irrigation
purpose in paddy and vegetable cultivation causing absorption of heavy metals through the food
chain by human beings. In the backdrop of reports of raid and seizure of fake and adulterated food
items pouring in everyday, people wonder whether what they are eating is food or poison. With a
totally inefficient monitoring system, just having tough laws is hardly enough to keep
unscrupulous traders from tampering with food items.
Encouragingly, BSTI revealed that, in the current year, it had conducted countrywide drives
against fake and adulterated food through operation of mobile courts, instituted 1,822 criminal
cases, and realized over Tk. 4 crore as fine. But realization of fine has not helped to curb this
criminal offence. The government can’t allow a handful of unscrupulous traders to play with the
lives of the citizens, especially the children, and get away with impunity.
In Bangladesh, about the proportion of adulterated food items in the market varied between 70 and
90 percent. More than 76 percent food items in the market were found adulterated in a random
survey by public health laboratory of Dhaka City Corporation in 2004.
According to the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease & Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,
B), there is approximately 150 food items in the country. A study by the Institute of Public Health
(IPH) revealed that more than 50% of the food samples they tested were adulterated. Textile dyes,
which are highly injurious to health, are being randomly used to color many types of food. Fish is
considered to be an essential protein for people of all ages.
Many fish sellers spray fish with formalin in an indiscriminate manner, It makes the fish or fruits
stiff and keeps them looking fresh for longer.Undoubtadey human health is now under the
possession of formalin, in our country about 400 tons formalin is being imported which are goes
to human stomach, even though for laboratory or research purposes 100 tons of Formalin is quite
enough, 80% of the imported formalin being added to food only for business purposes. Milk in
rural areas is usually adulterated with dirty water, which can cause hepatitis. People have now
come to know about a new milk adulteration technique that uses a thickening agent, sorbitol, and
detergent. Vegetable and fruit samples collected from around Savar, Dhamrai and Tongi show the
presence of textile dyes, which, in the short-term, will cause diarrhea, food poisoning and
gastrointestinal problems, but in the long-term toxic materials will accumulate in the body with
serious health implications. In the absence of effluent treatment plants (ETP), the factory wastes
are drained out at will into the farmlands, and ultimately contaminate the farm produce. In our
country we have allowed things like pollution and food contamination to run riot. Till now, no
agency, either under the health ministry or the ministry of science and technology or the ministry
of industries, has conducted any examination of the pesticide- residue levels or toxic chemicals in
the foodstuff being marketed.
Table 1. Name of toxic food contaminants and purpose of application
Contaminants Purpose
Soap Ghee
The safety certification is achieved assessing the potentially health adverse effects of food
contamination. Three main food contamination groups can be identified: i. physical; ii.
Microbiological; iii. Chemical. Physical contaminations are due to the presence of extraneous
bodies in food (plastic, woods, glass and others) as the results, for example, of food packaging
and/or transformation and/or storage. The substances present in those materials are not for human
consumption, but when in contact with food they migrate into it and risk of being ingested.
Microbiological contamination refers to the presence of one or more natural biological agents,
such as various bacteria, yeasts, mould, fungi, protozoa or their toxins and by-products, which can
adulterate food properties and safety. Microbiological agents are responsible for “food diseases”
such as food borne infections and intoxications (Botulinum, Listeria, and Hepatitis A) and
epidemic episodes (e.g., Salmonella enteritis). Chemical contaminants or xenobiotic can originate
from many different sources and include heavy metals, pesticides, phytopharmaceuticals,
antibiotics, additives, dioxins and PCBs. Nowadays; chemical contaminants are a major concern
for food safety because of the increased role of man-made chemicals due to our modern lifestyles.
-Convulsion
Ryeflour
-Miscarriage
An integrated approach to face this problem requires a strong cooperation by the food industry,
food distributors, the scientific community, governments, managers and local administrators in
order to build consumers’ trust and confidence.
Table 3. Methods Used to detect Common Food Adulterants
Iodine
Add a few drops of tincture of Iodine or Iodine solution is
Milk Starch solution. Formation of blue color indicates the easily
presence of starch. available in the
medical stores.
Take a teaspoon of milk in a test tube. Add ½ teaspoon
of soybean or arhar powder. Mix up the contents
thoroughly by shaking the test tube. After 5 minutes,
Milk Urea
dip a red litmus paper in it. Remove the paper after ½
a minute. A change in color from red to blue indicates
the presence of urea in the milk.
Formalin
Take 10 ml of milk in a tests tube and add 5 ml of con enhances the
sulfuric acid from the sides of the wall without life of milk and
Milk Formalin shaking. If a violet or blue ring appears at the thus is added
intersection of two layers then it shows presence of for
formalin. preservation
purpose.
Ghee, cottage
Add 5 ml of dil. H2SO4 or conc. HCl to one teaspoon
cheese,
full of melted sample in a test tube. Shake well. Pink
condensed Coal Tar
color (in case of H2SO4) or crimson color (in case of
milk, khoa, Dyes
HCl) indicates coal tar dyes. If HCl does not give color
milk powder
dilute it with water to get the color.
etc,
Mashed
The presence of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes
Ghee Potatoes,
in a sample of ghee can easily be detected by adding a
Sweet
few drops of Iodine, which is brownish in color turns
Potatoes
and other to blue if mashed potatoes/sweet potatoes/other
starches. starches are present.
The test is
specific for
sesame oil
which is
compulsorily
added to
Vanaspati and
Margarine.
Some coal tar
colors also
give a positive
test. If the test
is positive i.e.
red color
Take about one teaspoon full of melted sample of develops only
butter with equal quantity of concentrated by adding
Vanaspati
Hydrochloric acid in a Stoppard test tube and add to it strong
Butter or
a pinch of sugar. Shake for one minute and let it for Hydrochloric
Margarine
five minutes. Appearance of crimson color in lower acid (without
(acid) of Vanaspati or Margarine. adding crystals
of sugar) then
the sample is
adulterated
with coal tar
dye. If the
crimson or red
color develops
after adding
and shaking
with sugar,
then alone
Vanaspati or
Margarine is
present
In a country where official systems set for food safety and prevention are constantly outdone by a
booming adulteration business, the onus of safeguarding one's family against contaminated food,
unfortunately falls on citizens themselves. From loose packed ground spices, to wet produce such
as milk, khoya, paneer, to dry spices and grains, almost everything you can buy has a potential of
being adulterated, if purchased from an unauthorized vendor in a box unmarked and tested. While
some of these could be less harmful, such as water or bran, chemicals and coloring agents such as
Metanil Yellow, Lead Chromate, Sudan Red III, are known to be carcinogenic. Following test asks
for the presence of an acid, you could use common toilet-cleaning acid, or easily found citric acid
or even lemon juice.
Name of
Food Adulterant Detection Method Potential Harm
Article
Washing
powder (to
Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on the It can cause severe
add a sheen
Ice cream ice cream. If it starts to froth and bubble, stomach and liver
and
it marks the presence of washing powder. disorders
lightness of
flavor)
Papaya Float the sample in alcohol. Mature black Papaya seeds can cause
Black
seeds (used pepper corns will sink whereas papaya serious liver problems and
pepper
to add bulk) seeds will float to the surface. stomach disorders.
Suggested Precautions
Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) levels and tolerable concentrations of contaminants in individual
foods are determined on the basis of the "No Observed Adverse Effect Level" (NOAEL) in animal
experiments, by using a safety factor (usually 100). The maximum concentrations of contaminants
allowed by legislation are often well below toxicological tolerance levels, because such levels can
often be reasonably achieved by using good agricultural and manufacturing practices.
Regulatory officials, in order to combat the dangers associated with foodborne viruses, are
pursuing various possible measures.
The EFSA published a report in 2011 on “scientific opinion regarding an update of the
present knowledge on the occurrence and control of foodborne viruses”.
This year, an expert working group created by the European Committee for Standardization
(CEN), is expected to publish a standard method for the detection of norovirus and
hepatitis A virus in food.
The CODEX Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) is also working on a guideline which
is now ready for final adoption.
European Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 indicates that
“foodstuffs should not contain micro-organisms or their toxins or metabolites in quantities
that present an unacceptable risk for human health”, underlining that methods are required
for foodborne virus detection.
There are several laws in Bangladesh for maintaining health and safety standards.
The Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 1959: This is an ordinance to provide better control
of the manufacture and sale of food for human consumption. Now, this Ordinance is under
revision as 'The Bangladesh Pure Food (Amendment) Act'. Under this Act, it has been
proposed to constitute a National Food Safety Council, headed by the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare as well as to establish Food Courts.
The Bangladesh Pure Food Rules, 1967: In this Rule, there are generic standards for 107
food products. Now, this 'Rules' is under revision.
The Food Grain Supply (Prevention of Prejudicial activity) Ordinance, 1956 (Ord. xxvi of
1979): This ordinance provides special measures for prevention of prejudicial activity
relating to the storage, movement, transshipment, supply and distribution of food grains. It
provides basis for the protection of false statement or information.
The Radiation Protection Act, 1987: Under this Act, the Institute of Food and Radiation
Biology (IFRB) of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission is primarily involved in food
irradiation research and development in the country.
The Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) Prevention Act, 1989: The Government has
enacted "The Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Act, 1989 for universal salt
iodization and banned non-iodized salt from market, aimed at virtual elimination of IDD
from the country.
The Essential Commodity Act, 1990: The purpose of administering this act is to stabilize,
maintain or increase supply of essential commodities including foodstuffs. The mandate of
Essential Commodity Act also includes broad spectrum of activities like storage, transport,
distribution, disposal, acquisition, use or consumption of any essential commodity.
Fish and Fish product (Inspection and Quality Control) Rules, 1997: Under this section of
the Fish and Fish products (Inspection and Control) Ordinance 1983 (Ord xx of 1983) and
in conjunction with fish and fish products Inspection and Quality Rules 1989, and other
related provisions made there under, the government has made the Rules: Fish and Fish
product (Inspection and Quality Control) Rules, 1997. These Rules are basically meant to
develop quality improvement to promote export trade. The quality control of fish and fish
products in the country has earned reputation among the importing countries.
Other Laws and Regulations: In addition, a number of other Laws and Regulations exist in
the country to ensure the safe and quality food viz. The Animal Slaughter (Restriction) and
Meat Control (Amendment) Ordinance, 1983 (it is under revision); The Pesticide
Ordinance, 1971 & the Pesticides Rules, 1985; Destructive Insects and Pests Rules (Plant
Quarantine), 1966, amended up to 1989; Agricultural Products Market Act, 1950 (revised
in 1985); Fish Protection and Conservation Act, 1950 (amended in 1995); Marine Fisheries
Ordinance 1983 and Rules, 1983; Procurement Specifications, Ministry of Food, Rice Mill
Control Order etc.
The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution Ordinance, 1985: This ordinance relates
to establishment of an institution for standardization, testing, metrology, quality control,
grading and marking of goods. Within the framework of this ordinance, the government
has established the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI). One import task
of this organization is to certify the quality of commodities, materials, whether for local
consumption or for export and import. The Ordinance has been amended as The
Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (Amendment) Act, 2003.
Conclusion
Food contamination refers to the presence in food of harmful chemicals and microorganisms which
can cause consumer illness. This article addresses the chemical contamination of foods, as opposed
to microbiological contamination, which can be found under foodborne illness. The impact of
chemical contaminants on consumer health and well-being is often apparent only after many years
of processing prolonged exposure at low levels (e.g., cancer). Chemical contaminants present in
foods are often unaffected by thermal processing (unlike most microbiological agents). Chemical
contaminants can be classified according to the source of contamination and the mechanism by
which they enter the food products.
References
1. Risks from food and drink from dkl, Houston County Health Department
2. Food adulteration rings alarm bell The Daily Star Editorial Thursday, August 11, 2011
3. Beware of adulterated food The Daily Star Editorial Saturday, July 14, 2012
4. Improving Food safety, Quality and Food Control in Bangladesh FAO of the UN June 2010
5. cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fa/.../formaldehyde. PDF
6. buzzle.com/articles/formaldehyde-exposure.htm
7. Quick Tests for some adulterants in the food Instruction Manual Part 1 by Food Safety and
Standard Authority of India (FSSAI)
8. Bitter Truth Rampant adulteration still a havoc by Md. Asadullah Khan; The Daily Star
Saturday, July 9, 2011
9. Risks from Food and Water from Travel Tips direct-travel.co.uk
10. Slow poisoning continues unabated by MD. Asadullah Khan; The Daily Star Saturday,
August 14, 2010
11. Some Cautions before eating, Article from thehindu.com/news
12. Kitchen tricks to expose food adulteration Divashri Sinha, Mumbai Mirror May 30, 2012
13. Food Safety and Quality Control in Bangladesh by Dr. Md. Hossain The Financial Express
Wednesday September 10, 2008
14. Monitoring Contaminants in Food Chain and Their Impact on Human Health CNR
Environment and Health Inter-departmental Project
15. Formalin Aggression “in editorial page the daily newspaper Bangladesh Protidin on 4th
November
16. Food contamination causes serious health hazard to humans: Study conducted by the
Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU)
17. Food & Drug Administration Uttar Pradesh
18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_contaminant
19. Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005, Official Journal of the European Union, 15
November 2005, Retrieved 7 April 201