PM orders formation of high-level committee to ensure food safety

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed the formation of a three-member high-level committee to identify and address the challenges facing agencies responsible for ensuring food safety, maintaining product quality standards, and conducting anti-adulteration drives.

The committee has been instructed to submit a report within one month, identifying both immediate and long-term issues along with recommendations for resolving them. The Prime Minister‍‍`s Deputy Press Secretary, Sujan Mahmud, briefed reporters on the decision.

The directive was issued at a meeting held at the Prime Minister‍‍`s Office in the Secretariat on Monday afternoon. Officials from the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), city corporations, and field-level officials involved in anti-adulteration drives and mobile courts attended the meeting.

Under the Prime Minister‍‍`s directive, the committee will comprise Public Administration Adviser Ismail Zabiullah, State Minister for Public Administration Abdul Bari, and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Nasimul Gani. The committee has been tasked with identifying both short-term and long-term challenges faced by the relevant agencies and submitting a report with recommendations within one month.

During the meeting, officials from the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, and BSTI highlighted several obstacles affecting their operations. They cited staff shortages at the district level, a lack of modern laboratory facilities, inadequate equipment for field inspections, and difficulties in taking action against influential syndicates. They also noted that officials involved in enforcement operations often face security risks and called for greater authority and enhanced capacity to conduct mobile court operations.

After hearing the officials‍‍` concerns, the Prime Minister assured them that the government would work to resolve the problems promptly and instructed that the high-level committee be established to strengthen the effectiveness of the relevant institutions.

Addressing the meeting, the Prime Minister said challenges are inevitable but should not hinder progress.

"Problems will always exist. Even so, we must continue moving forward despite them. We cannot afford to remain idle. Many countries that were once less developed than us have now progressed significantly. We, too, must move forward. If everyone works together with sincerity, it is certainly possible. For the sake of the country, everyone must act with greater responsibility and awareness," he said.

Those present at the meeting included Public Administration Adviser Ismail Zabiullah, State Minister for Public Administration Abdul Bari, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Nasimul Gani, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Abdus Sattar, Commerce Secretary Ataur Rahman Khan, Additional Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Atikur Rahman Rumon, and BSTI Director General Kazi Emdadul Haque.