daunting task of ensuring the supply of safe food to its residents, given its rapidly increasing population of over 160 million people. This is because food adulteration and contamination pose a serious risk to the public’s health in Bangladesh. Considering the alarming issues, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of Bangladesh’s food safety policies and regulations (including fisheries, livestock, and poultry) with gaps and deficiencies as well as proposing a pathway to address them. The study also explored the involvement of various government agencies in assuring compliance and safety in the food industry, especially in the fisheries sector.
This review found that although several food safety policies exist in Bangladesh, they are not exercised properly. Inadequate enforcement and lack of cooperation among the authorities, excess food adulteration and contamination practices, difficulties of mobile court systems, and consumers’ dissatisfactions are the major issues reported in this review. Throughout the review, limitations and gaps in the food safety policy landscape are identified, emphasizing the need for resource allocation, enforcement, and greater public awareness. Establishing a robust institutional framework that encompasses the formulation of food safety policy, education of both public and commercial sectors, elimination of barriers to policy enforcement, and implementation of a consistent monitoring system will effectively address the issue of food safety policy.
Keywords: Food safety policy; Food adulteration; Contamination; Fish adulteration.