Zabihullah seeks JICA’s support for setting up food testing labs in 64 districts

Prime Minister’s Public Administration Adviser Md Ismail Zabihullah today sought technical assistance from the JICA to establish laboratories in all 64 districts of the country for testing food quality and ensuring safety.

To increase the acceptability and competitiveness of Bangladeshi food products in the international market, it is essential to ensure full compliance with food safety regulations based on international standards, he said.

The adviser came up with the request when a six-member delegation led by Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency, (JICA) Bangladesh Takahashi Junko called on him at his office at Bangladesh Secretariat here.

The team leader of the JICA Atsushi Koyama presented JICA’s recommendations for strengthening the food safety administration during the meeting.

The discussion covered several key topics including the protection of public health in Bangladesh, ensuring safe food for all citizens, preventing food adulteration, addressing challenges related to food borne illnesses, strengthening the food safety administration and expanding technical capacity-building initiatives.

The adviser said that in line with its election manifesto, the present government is working to ensure safe food nationwide and to curb the production, supply and marketing of counterfeit and adulterated food products. To this end, initiatives have been taken to enhance the capacity of relevant institutions such as the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) by recruiting adequate personnel, strengthening field-level monitoring and ensuring the strict enforcement of food safety laws, he said, adding, furthermore, the government has taken necessary steps to raise awareness among consumers.

Takahashi Junko recommended streamlining existing food safety laws and regulations to make the food safety system in Bangladesh more effective and well-organized. She emphasized the importance of developing an integrated legal framework for food safety, as well as introducing a unified licensing system for all food businesses. She stated that JICA is establishing three international-standard laboratories in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna divisions to make the food safety system here more effective and robust.

She further noted that building an effective food safety system requires specialized technical expertise, laboratories accredited to international standards and a nationwide mechanism for collecting and inspecting food samples. To this end, She emphasized the need to significantly enhance the human resources and institutional capacity of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority.

 Specifically, the Chief Representative of the JICA Bangladesh Office recommended increasing the number of food safety inspectors at the district level to oversee the operations of food businesses using scientific, risk-based approaches, provide necessary technical guidance, and strengthen the regular collection and testing of food samples. She also expressed her willingness to provide technical training for these food safety inspectors.

Senior officials from the JICA Bangladesh Office were present on the occasion.