Nurul Absar, a resident of Khaja Road in Chattogram, had been suffering from diarrhoea for two days. His health did not improve a bit even after drinking coconut water and saline. As he grew physically weaker, he went to the local Gausul Azam Urban Dispensary for medical advice.
Nurul Absar was speaking in front of the dispensary on Tuesday morning. His wife Rehana Begum was also with him. She said, as her husband is often away from home for work, he has to eat lunch at hotels and restaurants almost every day. His condition had deteriorated two days earlier.
The exact cause of Nurul Absar’s illness could not be confirmed. However, many people in Chattogram like him rely on hotels and restaurants for their daily meals. Working people, students, job seekers and even people visiting the city for various purposes dine at these eateries.
Recent drives by government agencies across hotels and restaurants in the city have uncovered various irregularities in food preparation and storage. Live and dead cockroaches were found in food ingredients in some places. Insects were found roaming around in kitchens as well.
Some restaurants were preparing food beside open dustbins, storing raw and cooked meat together and preparing meals in unhygienic conditions. There have also been allegations of using burnt oil and expired ingredients. There are also allegations of using burnt oil and expired ingredients. In one hotel, a cat was even found lying inside the place used for food preparation.
Doctors say contaminated food can cause various foodborne illnesses, including diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Preparing food in unhygienic conditions and failing to store it properly after cooking increases the risk of bacterial contamination.
Cockroaches in food, irregularities in kitchens
During drives at various hotels and restaurants in Chattogram city in September, the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) found live and dead cockroaches and bedbugs in food ingredients. The insects were found in dalda (hydrogenated vegetable oil), raisins, milk, murabba (preserve), oil, spices and dough used to make bread. Kitchens and food storage areas were also found to be unhygienic.
The drives also detected irregularities such as placing open dustbins inside kitchens and storing raw and cooked meat together. In August, food safety officials discovered a cat lying in the food preparation area inside the kitchen of Al-Helal Hotel and Restaurant at the busy GEC intersection in the city.
According to officials of the food safety authority, at least 42 establishments have been fined more than Tk 15 million in total this year. The penalties were imposed over allegations including food adulteration, unhygienic conditions and the use of unauthorised ingredients in food preparation. The list of such eateries includes Sadia’s Kitchen, Barcode, Home Recipe Foods, Kacchi Dine and a KFC outlet.
Mohammad Farhan Islam, the Metropolitan Safe Food Officer of the Bangladesh Safe Food Authority (BSFA) told Prothom Alo that food preparation areas, the storage of ingredients, kitchen hygiene and food handlers’ personal hygiene are directly linked to public health. The insect's presence in food preparation areas in particular increases the risk of food contamination.
Unsafe food even beside hospitals
On 1 October, a drive by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection in the Chattogram Medical College Hospital area uncovered various irregularities at CMC Cafe and the canteen for fourth-class employees. Raw fish and meat were being stored alongside cooked food in the cafe’s refrigerator. Cockroaches were found in the dough used to make bread at the employees’ canteen.
Mohammad Faiz Ullah, deputy director of the Chattogram District Office of DNCRP said, irregularities in food preparation and storage in places such as hospitals can pose health risks to patients and their relatives. Storing cooked food with raw fish and meat and preparing food in unhygienic conditions increase the risk of contamination by germs.
Mohammad Abdur Rob, associate professor of medicine at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, told Prothom Alo that consuming contaminated food, drinking contaminated water increases the risk of diarrhoea. People should pay attention not only to the types of food they eat but also to where and under what conditions it is prepared. Unclean food preparation areas can pose health risks, he said.
Doctors say diarrhoea causes the body to lose water and salts. It is therefore important to drink adequate amounts of oral rehydration saline and safe water from the outset. Medical advice should be sought if the condition worsens.