Discussants at a roundtable in Dhaka on Tuesday made the observation, expressing concern over the uncontrolled and injudicious use of chemicals in foods.

"It is not a matter of political debate, but of the safety and existence of the nation," said Ferdous Ahmed Qureshi, convenor of Safe Food Movement, organiser of the roundtable, calling for a movement against unsafe and unhygienic food.

Mohammad Abdul Hye Majumder, an environment expert, presenting the keynote in the roundtable said poisonous chemicals used in vegetables have both short and long term harmful impact on environment and human health.

He listed the pesticides and other chemicals containing organo chlorinate, mercury, lead and organo phosphate, which are being used rampantly by farmers and traders for killing pests, or preserving and colouring vegetables. Vegetables should be brought to the market at least 10 days after spraying such poisonous chemicals, he added.

Poisonous chemicals are also used in meet, oil, salt, spices and other food ingredients, according to a list presented in the roundtable. The keynote also refers to the type of adulteration and poisoning of food in different stages from cultivation to marketing.

The farmers and traders are using the poisons for more production and more profit while the consumers have become the victims of health hazard, the discussants observed.

Farida Akhter, executive director of Ubinig, an NGO, said people are consuming the poisons used in vegetables. Describing the dangers of insecticides and genetically engineered vegetables, she called for a campaign for 'alternative agriculture.'

She said political parties could play a big role in ensuring safe food for consumers by incorporating the issue in their election manifestos.

The government is conducting mobile courts regularly to check food adulteration but it is inadequate to curb the adulteration and poisoning on foods, said Saiful Islam, leader of a faction of the Workers Party of Bangladesh.

He laid emphasis on building mass awareness about the use of poisons in food.

Amid the grim picture of unsafe food marketing presented in the roundtable, a private organisation showed a ray of hope to come out of the grave situation. Sirajul Islam of the Agro Biotech Limited said they are cultivating food grains and vegetables using 'helping insects' instead of poisonous chemicals and selling those in the market.

"Without using pesticides and chemical fertilisers, we are able to produce more food grains and vegetables compared to the production using chemical fertilisers. Our production cost is also 42 percent less," he said.

The government alone cannot check adulteration and poisoning of food. People have to resist this practice, Ferdous Qureshi said summing up the discussion. He said scientific innovations and campaign are needed to ensure safe food for consumers.

"A social movement for safe food is a demand of time," Qureshi said stressing the need for pressurising the government and administration for necessary reforms in the legal framework and their implementation as well as raising public awareness.