Ensuring food safety is vital to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, said experts.
At present, one in every five (21%) adults in Bangladesh is suffering from hypertension, which is widely attributed to intake of unsafe food.
They came up with the statements while speaking at a webinar marking World Food Safety Day 2022 on Tuesday. This year Food Safety Day was observed with the theme “Safer food, better health”. Research and advocacy organisation PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with the support of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) arranged the programme.
World Food Safety Day is important for Bangladesh as consumption of unsafe food is leading to exponential rise in prevalence of the NCDs and related mortality in the country.
Hypertension causes increased risks of cardiovascular disease, which is responsible for 277,000 deaths each year in the country. Half of the women (51%) and two thirds of men (67%) are not even aware that they have hypertension.
According to the data of the GBD 2019, hypertension is one of the three major risk factors of death and disability in Bangladesh.
Although Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has already promulgated “Controlling Trans Fatty Acids in Foodstuffs Regulation, 2021”, people are yet to reap the benefit of this great initiative as the regulation is yet to be implemented.
BFSA Member Prof Dr. Md Abdul Alim, GHAI Bangladesh Country Lead Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Associate Professor of BSMMU Dr. Romen Raihan, Prof Dr. Malay Kanti Mridha, Dr. Md. Delowar Hossain Shumon, Dr. Mahfuzur Rahman Bhuiyan, Prof Dr. Abdullah Iqbal, journalist Rashed Rabbi, and Executive Director of PROGGA ABM Zubair were present on the occasion.
Source: The Daily Sun, 08 June 2022
