Factories producing bakery products should be under constant vigilance along with the traders indulging in the use of urea in the production of puffed rice and also as an ingredient to whiten rice. Rice is the staple food and the adverse effect of its adulteration on public health can be extremely telling and widespread. Serious attention must be given to the operation of slaughter houses also, where nothing has changed for the better despite the punitive measures taken during the last campaign.

One of our expatriate scientists, Dr. Abu Taher Khan, currently working with the Center for Food Safety and Nutrition in USA, has expressed grave concern over the increased incidence of food adulteration in Bangladesh. He has diagnosed that much of the incidence of liver and kidney malfunctioning in the country is directly related to use of harmful chemical ingredients in the food we are consuming. We share his strong view that if timely action is not taken to put a halt to this, then in time the scourge would seriously affect not only public health but also result in a serious burden on the economy of Bangladesh.

All agencies involved with food safety matters and the protection of consumer rights in general, like the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and food directorate must be adequately equipped and empowered to be able to do their job effectively enough. Let's invest resources in them, so we don't need to have ad-hoc campaigns with short-lived effects.

A default and dangerous culture built over the years will not disappear by any hit and run campaign. We, in the media, stand in readiness to join the administration in a long term plan of action against adulteration with a prospect for durable results.