“SCENERIO OF ADULTERATION OF FOOD IN BANGLADESH- A RINGING ALARM FOR HEALTH

SECURITY”

Dr.Muhammad HezbullahAssociate Professor(Medicine)Sylhet MAG Osmani medical college

FOOD ADULTERATION

The deliberate contamination offood material with prohibited,inferior or deleterious substance iscalled food adulteration.

According to Codex AlimentariusCommission of WHO/FAO a food isdeemed to be adulterated if:-

M Shamsuddin, Food adulteration and public health issues in Bangladesh:The ninth annual scientific conference(ASCON-IX) ,CVASU,2012:1-22.

-- the food contains poisonous substance .

-- consists in whole or in part of any filthy , putrid or decomposed substances.

-- prepared, packed or held under insanitary condition where it may become contaminated.

-- container is composed of any deleterious substance which is injurious to health.

-- mixed with other component of inferior quality.

-- Any of it’s component is replaced with other undesirable components.

-- Any nutritious component is removed.

MAGNITUDE OF FOOD ADULTERATION

♣DCC- Dhaka City Corporation

Among 791 food samples collectedby DCC(south), 293 samples werefound adulterated(37%) in 2013.

WHO AND IPH STUDY FINDINGS(2003)

Mirza Farzana Iqbal Chowdhury,IOSR Journal of Humanities And Social Science:19(3):45-54

96% 54% 59%

FOOD ADULTERANTS IN BANGLADESH

Diverse and numerous.

--Formalin to preserve fish, milk and fruits.--Calcium carbide and ethephon for artificialripening.--Heavy metals in rice ,poultry and poultryproducts.--Urea use for puffed rice production.

--Non permitted artificialsweeteners, coloring agents andpreservatives in stored foods ,sweetmeats and ice-cream etc.

--Pesticide residue in vegetables and fruits.-- Antibiotic residue in poultry and products.--Use of banned pesticides(DDT) in driedfish.--Various ways of adulterations of milk andmilk products like yogurts, ghee, condensedmilk etc.

-- Adulteration of turmeric powder,chili powder, coriander powder and cumin powder.

-- Adulteration of jaggery and honey.--Use of recycling burnt cooking oil or lubricant for deep fry.

M Shamsuddin, Food adulteration and public health issues in Bangladesh:The ninth annual scientific conference(ASCON-IX) ,CVASU,2012:1-22.

ADULTERATION WITH FORMALIN

Formalin is a solution made up of 37%formaldehyde(CH2O) by weight , which isstabilized by the addition of methanol.

Shatabdi Goon et al. Fish marketing status with formalin treatment in Bangladesh,Online Journal of Social Sciences Research, March 2014;3(3):49-53.

Tolerable daily Intake(TDI) of formaldehyde in drinking water as set by WHO is 900µg/L and 0.15mg/Kg/day in food.USEPA – Reference dose(RfD) for chronic oral exposure is 0.2 mg/Kg/day.

Based on--Til et al. Two year drinking water study of formaldehyde in rats.Fd. Chem. Toxic 1989;27:77-87

• FormaldehydeFormat in urine

CO2 expired

Formaldehyde is an essential metabolic intermediate of amino acid in mammalian cells.

If not metabolized by “formaldehydedehydrogenase”, it can form cross-linkagesbetween proteins and single strand RNA.

S.Norliana et. al.American Journal of pharmacology and toxicology 4(3):98-106,2009.

• Foods known to contain natural formaldehyde:Fruits and vegetables

Food type level(mg/Kg)

Apple 6.3- 22.3

Banana 16.3

Grape 22.4

Pear 38.7-60

Plum 11.2

Water-melon 9.2

Cabbage 5.3

Carrot 6.7-10

Cauliflower 26.9

Potato 19.5

Spinach 3.3-7.3

Tomato 5.7-13.3Source: WHO and others

Meat and dairy products

Food type Level(mg/Kg)

Beef 4.6

Sheep 8

Poultry 2.5-5.7

Processed meat product

≤ 20.7

Goat’s milk 1

Cow’s milk ≤ 3.3

Cheese ≤ 3.3

Pig 5.8-20

Sea foods and others

Food type Level(mg/Kg)

Cod 4.6- 34

Shrimp(raw) 1- 2.4

Squid 1.8

Fish ball 6.8

Crustacean 1- 98

Bombay-duck ≤ 140

Alcoholic beverage .02-3.8

Soft drinks 8.7

Instant coffee 10-16

Source: WHO and others

FISH ADULTERATION WITH FORMALINFirst identified in 2006.

.

Study year Study place Samples positive for formalin

Fishes found positve

2009

Emdadul H, Mohsin ABM. J Fish Int, 2009;4(3):52-54.

Dhaka city 50/800 (6.25%) Rui, Katla, Shrimp, Kachki and Mrigal.

2010

Riaz U et. al. Stamford J Pharma

SCI,2011;4(1):49-52.

Dhaka city 42/100 (42%) Rui(70%), Katla(50%), Hilsha(50%), Mrigal(40%).

2012

Rahman MM et al. Bangladesh Res

Pub J, 2012;7(2):161-169.

Sylhet 26/150 (17.3%) Rui, Shrimp, Katla.

2011-2014

BFRI Project

Mymensingh 50%, 31.57%, 18.42%

Big carp, Small indigenous fish, Shrimp.

Water used for ice preparation is alsoformalin contaminated.

BFRI- Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute

• HOW TO IDENTIFY FORMALIN TREATED FISH:Yasmin et. al.Journal of Agriculture and food sciences, june 2013;1(6):118-122

Normal ice stored fish Formalin treated fishBright, shining appearance Slight loss of brightness

Soft- firm and elastic Slightly hard and rubbery

Odor of neck and gills- natural Loss of natural odor

Gills are pinkish Gills are slightly blackish

Eyes are superficial Eyes become inserted inside.

Flies around fish No flies around fish.

• Retention of formalin level (BFRI study 2011-2014)

Formalin in fish Retention of formalin in water

Concentration 5% 3% 1% 0.5%

Initial (ppm) 1.56 1.13 0.56 0.23

In open air (2h) 0.9 0.8 0.3 0.06

In water (1hr) 0.5 0.24 0.21 0.02

In water (2 hr) 0.18 0.14 0.13 0.00

Study finding of T. ChandaAdulterants Percentage

Formalin 10%

Water 100%

Cane sugar 26%

Powder milk 14%

Starch 12%

Sodium bicarbonate 20%

ADULTERATION OF MILK WITH FORMALIN

BLRI(2011-2014) study findings

Adulterants Percentage

Formalin 6.67%-64%. In vendors milk . But brand milks were free from formalin

Pond water 40-74% of vendors milk

Cane sugar 6.67- 25% in vendors milk and 25% in brand milk

Hydrogen peroxide 10%-18.75% of vendors milk.

Heat Stability of Formalin in MilkItems Quantity Before heating

quantity ofFormalin (ppm)

After heating(5-10 mins)quantity offormalin (ppm)

Milk + Formalin (300ml+ 0.25%) 10 ppm None

Milk+ Formalin (300ml+ 0.5%) 20 ppm None

Distilled Water+ Formalin (300ml+ 0.25%) 10 ppm None

Distilled Water+ Formalin (300ml+ 0.5%) 20 ppm None

Tested by : “EM Quant Formaldehyde Test Kit/made by

Germany”

*BCSIR Kit unable to quantify the presenceof formalin in milk before and after heatingand unable to detect the presence offormalin immediately

Adulteration of fruits with formalin:

A study titled “Prevalence of formalin inseasonal fruits in markets of Dhaka”conducted by Paribesh BachaoAndolon(POBA) in 2011 found existence offormalin in 93.75% of mango and 100% oflitchi and blackberry.

In July 2014, Dhaka Metropolitan Policedestroyed 12500 mounds of mangoes and25 lakhs litchis after finding formalinpositive.

Daily Star,June 11,2013

But Z-300 meter they used for formalindetection is later proved to be faulty andthey did not take into account the naturalcontent of formalin in fruits.Md.Monirul Islam,Coordinated SPGR Sub-Project on contaminants and adulterants in food chain and their mitigation, June 2014 :Page-8 .

BARI in their study(june 2011-june 2014)did not found formalin in fruits samplesabove reference range.

IPH in 2014 found all fruits samples tested intheir laboratory contain formaldehyde belowrecommended range.

• BARI- Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute• IPH- Institute of Public Health

• Methods of determination of formalinQualitative tests:--Formalin detection kit(BCSIR)--EM Quant® Formaldehyde test kit .--Chemical test with sulphuric acid for milk.Semiquantative tests:----ZDL-300 formaldehyde hand-held data logging meter(now not approved)

Quantative tests:-- Spectrophotometrically with Nash reagent(BFRI).-- HPLC(High performance liquid chromatography) (IPH, Mohakhali).

Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research--BCSIR

Z-300 meter BCSIR kit

HPLC Machine Spectrophotometer

• Health effect of formalin/formaldehyde:

S.Norliana et. al.American Journal of pharmacology and toxicology 4(3):98-106,2009.Fernando Aguilar et al.The EFSA Journal 2006;415:1-10Soffritti et al. Results of long term experimental studies on the carcinogenecity of formaldehyde and acetyldehyde in rats.Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2002;

982:87-105.

♠Classified as a potential human carcinogen.♠Identified as class 2A carcinogen by US EPAand as class 1 by international agency forresearch on cancer(IARC).

♠Based on experimental animal studies andlimited evidence of human carcinogenicity.♠It is genotoxic as it causes structuralchromosomal aberrations, sister-chromatidexchanges, gene mutation, DNA strand breakand DNA-protein cross links etc.

♠Epidemiological evidence ofnasopharyngeal cancer in human exposureby inhalation> 2ppm.♠Currently there is no definite evidenceindicating that formaldehyde is carcinogenicwhen administered orally in animal.

♠Increase incidence of tumors of thehematopoietic system were reported bySoffritti et al.(1989) when administeredorally at high dose in rats.

In animal studies, fetal occurrence ofmissing sternebra and delayed ossificationof thoracic vertebra were increased .

ARTIFICIAL RIPENING AND HAZARDSCALCIUM CARBIDE(CaC2):

It is colourless when pure but industrialgrade CaC2 is greyish white because itcontains traces of arsenic and phosphorus.

Ashraf-ur-Rahman et al.Artificial Ripening:What we are eating,J Medicine 2008;9:42-44.

When comes in contact with moisture itproduce acetylene gas which is analogue tonatural ripening agent ethylene.

CaC2 + 2 H2O = Ca(OH)2 + C2H2Ashraf-ur-Rahman et al.Artificial Ripening:What we are eating,J Medicine 2008;9:42-44

• Quality of carbide ripened fruits:

Parameters CaC2 ripened fruits Naturally ripened fruits

Weight per fruit Fair Good

Texture Not very attractive but uniformly colored

Attractive but not uniformly colored

Aroma Fair Good

Firmness Overly soft Fair

Taste In-core sour(unripe), mildly pleasant

Sweet, pleasant

Self-life Shorter, black blotches appear on the skin in 2-3 days

Longer

Mahmood T et al. European Academic Research 2013;1(5):685-700

Fruits ripened by calcium carbide have agood skin color with high acidity and lowsugar content but poorly developed flavor.

Ashraf-ur-rahman et al. J Medicine 2008;9:42-44

Health Hazards:♣Early symptoms of Arsenic andPhosphorus poisoning include- Vomiting,diarrhea, burning in chest and abdomen,thirst, difficulty in swallowing and speech,numbness in limbs and low blood pressure.

♣Acetylene gas affects the neurologicalsystem resulting in:-- headache, dizziness, seizure--mood disturbance, mental confusion,--memory loss and cerebral edema.

♣CaC2 has carcinogenic properties also.

• Precautions to be taken by the consumers:

SA Fattah, MY Ali. Faridpur Medical Coll. J 2010;5(2):37

♠Wash thoroughly in running tap water.♠Peel out the skin of fruits.♠It is better to cut the fruits into pieces.♠Try to buy mature fruits directly fromgrowers and to ripen it at home in warmtemperature in contact with ripe one.

Ethephon/Ethrel

Commercial Name of Ethephon

Ripen-15, Riser, Ethrel, Harvest,Promot, Totom, Eden, Profit,Prolong, Gold plus, Remote,Garden, Amote, Action

2 cholro ethyl phosphonic acid

• Ethephon as ripening agents:

BARI project- June 2011-June 2014

It is widely used in our country andworldwide for faster ripening of mango,banana, pineapple, papaya and tomato.

It can be applied safely @ 750-1000 ppm for ripening of above fruits.(ADI-0.05ppm/kg body wt).

It has been shown that left over residue ofethephon in fruits remain below FAO/WHOrecommended MRL(Maximum residual limit) of2 ppm after 6 days of application ifrecommended dose is used.

T2 (250ppm) T3 (500ppm)

T4 (1000ppm) T5 (10000ppm)

T1 (0ppm)

T3 (750ppm)

SEVEN DAYS AFTER ETHEPHON SPRAY

SIX DAYS AFTER ETHEPHON SPRAY

HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION OF FOODS

This is a emerging concern for food safetyof Bangladeshi peoples.

Study by BRRI(2011-2013) showed thatindustrial field samples (8/86) and marketsamples(21/76) of rice and rice basedproducts were highly contaminated with“Cadmium”.(>0.07 mg/416.01 gm)

Only one sample from industrial field inNarayanganj had high level of“lead”(>0.25mg/416.01).

Study by BLRI(2011-2014) showed that “Cr”content was higher(.53-.96) in all milk samplesof brand and local milk samples compared toIAEA.

Analysis of “commercial cattle and poultryfeed” in above study showed presence of“As” and “Cr” in some samples.

BARI- Bangladesh Agricultural Research InstituteBRRI-Bangladesh Rice Research InstituteBLRI- Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute

Toxic effect of Cadmium: (TWI>7µgm/Kg)♣Fanconi’s anaemia due to effect on renaltubule.♣Osteomalacia due to vit-D metabolismimpairement.♣May induce HTN and DM due to toxicimpact on gene transcript.

♣Severe anemia due to erythropoietinsuppression.♣ Male infertility due to damage to blood-testisbarrier.♣USEPA considers Cd to be a Class B1carcinogen. Pancreatic, lung , breast cancerand NHL was found to be associated.Robin A . Bernhoft, Cadmium Toxicity and Treatment, The Scientific World Journal;Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 394652, 7 pages

Toxic effect of Chromium:(RfD for chromium (VI) is 0.003 mg/kg/d & for chromium (III) is 1.5 mg/kg/d)

Chromium VI is more toxic than chromium III.The respiratory tract is the primary target organ for inhaled chromium.

♣ Chromium (VI) may cause occupationalasthma in sensitized individuals.♣Chromium (VI) compounds arecarcinogenic to humans.

Suparna kumar Das et al. A brief review: Heavy metals and their analysis, International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research 2011;11(1):13-18.

Toxic effect of lead(EPA – 15 parts per billion (ppb) in drinking water, 0.15micrograms per cubic meter in air)

♣ EPA has determined that lead is a probable human carcinogen.♣ Exposure to high lead levels can severely damagethe brain and kidneys and ultimately cause death.♣In pregnant women--miscarriage.

Suparna kumar Das et al. A brief review: Heavy metals and their analysis, International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research 2011;11(1):13-18.

HEALTH EFFECT OF HEAVY METALS

• PESTICIDE RESIDUE CONTAMINATION OF FOODIPH laboratory finding of 2014

Sample Name No. of positive samples Pesticide detected

Milk 05 Aldrin

Milk based soft drinks 01 Methyl Parathion

Mango based soft drinks

01 Methyl Parathion

Dry fish 08 DDT, DDE, Endrin, Heptachlor, Delta BHC

Banana 02 Aldrin

Apple 03 Alpha chordane

Carrot 02 DDD

Bean 01 Beta BHC

Dhania pata 01 DDT

Mango,pineapple,tomatto

05 Ethion

Tomato souch 01 Heptachlor

BARI study(2011-2014) showed among120 vegetable samples 20 containeddetectable residue (Quinalphos aboveMRL).

BRRI study (2011-2013) found“Carbofuran” in 2 samples of milled rice.

BLRI study (2011-2014) showedpresence of DDT in dried marine fishsamples collected from Cox’s Bazar,Kuakata and Dubla.

Another study in Chittagong found that allsamples of six species of dry fish werepositive for DDT and Heptachlor withconcentration higher in rainy season thanwinter. Bhuiyan et al. African Journal of Enviromental Science and Technology 2009;3 (11):405-411

Dry Fish Industry

“Wash Fish, Fruits & Vegetables Properly Before Cooking & Eating”

Soaked with Sobricon

Sobricon

Soaked With Chilly & Turmeric powder

Soaked With Chilly & Turmeric powder

BLRI also showed that broiler meat andegg showed presence of antibioticresidue of Ciprofloxacin, Sulfonamide,Oxytetracycline and Enrofloxacin in highlevel.

• Health effects of insecticide/pesticide residue

Name of Pesticide Group/Classs Toxic effects(chronic)

DDT Organochloro compound

Liver and pancreatic cancer. Reduced fertility in male and female.EPA has categorized DDT as a B2 carcinogen .Source: WHO

Heptachlor Organochloro compound

Dizziness, tremor, convulsion. EPA hascategorized it as a B2 carcinogen. Leukaemiaand neuroblastoma are documented.

Parathion Organophosphate ↓RBC cholinesterase activity, nausea, andheadaches. Methyl parathion-human birthdefects. No human data for carcinogenecity.

Aldrine/Dieldrin

Organochloro compound

Based on studies in animals, the EPA hasdetermined that aldrin and dieldrin areprobable human carcinogens mostly breastcancer.

• ADULTERATION IN PROCESSED FOOD

In study by BAU (2011 - 2013) they foundthat “fruit jams and jellies” were found tocontain non-permitted “artificial sweeteners”in 5.03-5.40% and high sodium benzaote .

♣“Mango juices” were found to containnon permitted “artificial sweeteners” 1.96-2.44%.♣“Orange squash” contained harmful foodcolor “Sudan Orange-2” which iscarcinogenic.

“Tomato ketchup” were found toadulterated with starchy material andcoliform count were high.

Turmeric, Chili, Cumin and Corianderpowder were found to have high moisture,total bacterial count and total ash(indicateadulteration with sand/saw dust/brick dust).

Source: Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council(BARC)

Legal Framework of food safetyLaw yearPenal Code 1860

Control of Essential Commodities Act 1956

Food Act 1956

Pure Food Ordinance 1959

Pesticide Ordinance 1971

Special Power Act 1974

Fish and Fish Products Ordinance 1983

The Breast Milk Substitutes Ordinance 1984

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute(BSTI) Ordinance

1985

Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Act 1989

Vokta Odhikar Songrokkhon Ain 2009

Stanio Sarkar Ain 2009

Mobile Court Ain 2009

Safe Food Act 2013

Formalin use restriction law 2014(life imprisonment and 20 lack tk fine)

Abu Noman,,Food safety and public health issues in Bangladesh: a regulatory, European food and feed law review 2013; 8(1) :31-40.

ACTIVITIES OF MOBILE COURT

• Regulatory framework of food safety

PARLIAMENT

MOI

MOC

MOHFW

MOLGRD

MOA

MOFL

MOHA

MOE

BSTI

National Consumer Rights Protection Council

Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection

DGHS

National Food Safety Advisory Council

City corporations

Bangladesh Police

Executive Magistrates

Abu Noman,,Food safety and public health issues in Bangladesh: a regulatory, European food and feed law review 2013; 8(1) :31-40.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Training and awareness should be given toall level of persons involved in production,transport , storage and marketing of food onhow to avoid adulteration and effect ofadulteration on themselves also.

Awareness and education should be givento public about how to detect and avoidadulterated food. They should be informedabout ill effect of adulterated food on theirhealth.

Manpower should be increased in institutesand organizations like BSTI, Citycorporations. More and more vigilance ofmarket should be done.

More mobile court should be put in action.Food court should be established in everyThana. Prevailing laws should be appliedstrongly against culprits.

“Bangladesh Food Safety Authority(BFSA)”outlined in “Safe food Act,2013” should beput in action as early as possible tocoordinate the activities of differentministries involved.

Laboratory facilities for detection ofadulterants in foods should madeavailable in all thanas with properlyequipped manpower and machine.

Strong regulation on import and use offormalin, carbide and pesticide should beapplied.