Governance Aspects of Food Safety in Bangladesh:
A comparative look through the global governance model
Md Zahirul Islam Khan
Graduate School of Law
Kyushu University, Japan
Introduction
Food Security and Food Safety
As defined in the World Food Summit-1996 “Food security exists when
all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient,
safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences
for an active and healthy life.” According to this definition the
Bangladesh National Food Policy, 2006 categorized food security as:
enhanced food availability, increased food access by the food insecure,
and adequate supply of safe and nutritious food. Thus, food safety is an
inclusive aspect of food security.
Source:
Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, Bangladesh and World Food Programme,“Food Security in
Bangladesh”: Workshop, IDB Building, Dhaka, October 19-29, 2005),
http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/liaison_office/wfp120476.pdf, (accessed
October 19, 2011).
Food Safety Threats in Bangladesh
•
•
•
•
Arsenic in Food Chain
Genetically Modified Food
Environment Pollutants in Food Chain
Human induced food adulteration during Farm
Production, Industrial Production, Marketing, and Street
Food Vending
(As an example next slide shows the trend of pesticide use
in Bangladesh)
Source: Bangladesh Statistical Year Book 2010
Implications
Health
Trade and Economy:
e.g. graphs below explain health and
trade implications:
Death by Cause in 2006 in Bangladesh (%)
Foodborne Illnes s ,
23.58, 23%
Old Age, 17.27, 17%
Accident and Related,
10.04, 10%
Indirect Food and
related Com plcation,
21.54, 22%
As thm a and Related,
17.57, 18%
Infectious Dis eas e, 10,
10%
Source: Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh 2010,
Chart percentages represent detail cause below: 23%(food borne illness): Liver diseases, jaundice,
diarrhea, dysentery, TB, peptic ulcer, malnutrition, skin diseases, leprosy, arsenic, kidney, appendicitis, warm and
other, 22%(indirect food and related): heart disease, stroke, blood pressure, diabetes, paralysis, tumor,
cancer, 10%(infectious diseases): Chicken pox, measles, polio, fever, malaria, typhoid, influenza, diphtheria,
meningitis, tetanus, gonorrhea, HIV, 18%(Asthma and related): Asthma, respiratory diseases, rheumatic fever,
rheumatism, ENT diseases, 10%(Accident and related): suicide, murder, burn, snakebite, poisoning, drowning,
rabies, mental diseases, drug abuse, epilepsy, pregnancy and abortion problem and the rest17% old age
Shirmp and other agro commodity export from Bangladesh (comparison)
600
Shrimp
Value (million USD)
500
Agro Commodity
400
300
200
100
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Financial Year (Represented by end of Year)
Source: Bangladesh Economic Census 2011
2010
2011
Source: Bangladesh Economic Census 2011
Global Governance Model for Food Safety
(General Framework)
Food Safety Governance Framework
Framing
Review
Referral
Terms of References
Management
Assessment
Monitoring
Screening
Implementation
Decision-making
Risk
Concern
Precaution
Prevention
Risk
Concern
Precaution
Prevention
Participation and Communication
Evaluation
Tolerablity and
Acceptability
Judgment
Source: Marion Dreyer and Renn Ortwin, Food Safety Governance: Integrating
Science, Precaution and Public Involvement( Verlag: Springer, 2009), 1-10
Governance for Food Safety in Bangladesh
 Constitutional mandate: Article 15: provision for basic necessities
including food, and Article 18(1): raising of level of nutrition and
improvement of public health
Food safety basic laws: The Pure Food Ordinance 1959, The Pure
Food (Amendment) Act 2005 and Pure Food Rules 1967 provides basic
framework of food law that includes scope and definitions, administration
and enforcement guidelines for food safety.
Subsidiary laws: A number of laws partially address food safety
issues, such as S.272and S.273 of Penal Code 1860, S.26C of Special
Power Act 1974, BSTI Ordinance 1985, Mobile Court Act 2009,
Consumers Rights Protection Act 2009 and different local government
laws.
Governance Gaps in Bangladesh as per Global Model
Governance
Stage
Purpose and procedures
Implementation Status
in the
UK and EU
Full implementation
undertaken using, for
example, up to date
law,coordination by
regulators, guidelines,
and resources
Implementation Status in
Bangladesh
Framing:Gover
nance design as
per laws,
regulation,
Institution,
resources
Setting terms of
reference, procedure and
focus using, e. g., law,
institution, regulators
Assessment
Step
1:Screening
Step
2:Prevention,
precaution,
concern or risk
based
assessment
Evaluation
(Assessment
decisions are
evaluated)
Management
Stage
1:decision
making
Stage 2
Implementation
Stage 3
Monitoring
Gathering knowledge by
identifying risks using, e.
g. sound science, or by
social scientists or
economists
Implementation
undertaken except
concern based
assessment to be
undertaken by social
scientists or economists.
Partial implementationproved
to be non-effective
Gaps: Science based
screening, and Testing labs
non-functional,precaution,
concern and risk based
assessment gaps
Value-based judgment e.
g. on tolerability or
acceptability prior to
management decision
Selection of appropriate
food safety risk decision
by Management Board or
regulator and decisions
are based on prevention,
precaution, concern or
risk analysis.
Moderate
implementation and full
implementation is in
experimental stage
Full implementation
undertaken
Absent and not exercised as
governance process
Gaps: Evaluation gaps
Partially exercised without
defining goals as governance
model
Gaps:No governance design,
backdated law, no single
regulator, coordination gaps,
resources gaps
Partially undertaken without
setting proper goals and thus
non-effective
Gaps: No single
management body or
regulator, hence decisions are
taken by different agencies
piecemeal basis and no
coordination
Causes of governance gaps
Government’s response gaps
Socio-economic factors
Unmanageable challenges due to Arsenic, GM
food, and environmental factors
(Graphs below explain partially the reasons of
response gaps:)
Source: Bangladesh Statistical Year Book 2010
Source: Bangladesh Statistical Year Book 2010
Conclusion
 Food Safety Governance is an abstract idea in Bangladesh
 Governance gaps could be filled gradually using existing
resources.
 Health and trade implications of governance gaps is
significant
 Implementing global governance approach and single
coordination approaches are feasible for piloting food
safety governance in Bangladesh
Thank You