State Minister of Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder has said that traders who adulterate food should be jailed for life or hanged for their crimes.
“White sugar is made with chemicals that have the potential to cause cancer,” he said while speaking as the special guest at a Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI) organised discussion marking the World Metrology Day on Saturday (20 May).
There is a need for collective efforts against those who adulterate food items and use inaccurate weighing scales, he added.
Majumder urged BSTI to play an important role in closing down factories that are making juice with colours that are very harmful to humans.
“A few factories have been shut down in the past and journalists should play their part in this regard,” he said.
“A group of profit-mongers, anti-Liberation War people want to drag down the progress of the country by adulterating food,” the state minister furthered.
Meanwhile, speaking as the chief guest at the event, Minister of Industries Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said that businessmen need to fix their mindset and put in a sincere effort to ensure food safety.
“When our country achieves LDC graduation in the future, we will need to improve the qualify of our food items,” he said adding, “People who adulterate food products should be excluded from the trade associations and blacklisted.”