Speakers at a workshop have urged the government to ban the sale of edible oil in open drums and make quality packaging mandatory to ensure access to safe, vitamin-fortified oil for all consumers.
They warned that selling oil in open drums not only violates government directives but also poses serious risks to public health.
The call came at a journalists’ workshop titled “Safe Vitamin-Fortified Edible Oil for All: Progress, Challenges, and Way Forward,” held on Wednesday at BMA Bhaban in Dhaka.
The event was jointly organised by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh, with the participation of 28 journalists representing print, television, and online media.
Speakers said although fortifying edible oil with vitamin A is mandatory under the law, most of the oil available in the market either lacks adequate vitamins or has none at all.
Citing a study by ICDDR,B, they noted that around 65% of edible oil in the market is sold in drums, with 59% containing no vitamin A, while only 7% meet the legal fortification standard.
They warned that this is contributing to a growing prevalence of vitamin A deficiency, especially among children.
They also pointed out that open drums are often reused from chemical or industrial storage, contaminating the oil and creating health hazards. In addition, the drums carry no labels or source information, making it impossible to verify quality.
Although an executive order was issued to phase out bulk soybean oil sold in drums by July 2022 and bulk palm oil by December 2022, the directives have not been enforced effectively.
Speakers called for coordinated action among the Ministry of Industries, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection (DNCRP), and the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) to ensure that vitamin-enriched, safe edible oil is available in the market.
They also highlighted the growing concern over widespread vitamin D deficiency, suggesting that edible oil should be fortified with both vitamins A and D as an affordable and sustainable public health measure.
Since exposure to sunlight and excessive light can destroy vitamins, they recommended storing oil in light-resistant, opaque bottles.
Emphasising the importance of proper packaging, speakers noted that vitamin A deficiency increases the risk of childhood blindness and maternal mortality, while lack of vitamin D can cause rickets, osteoporosis, and non-communicable diseases such as heart ailments.
Among the discussants were Fakir Muhammad Munawar Hossain, director (deputy secretary) of the Operations and Laboratories Department at DNCRP; Mustak Hassan Md Iftekhar, consultant of the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute; Md Shafiqul Islam, business in-charge at Bangla Tribune; and ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA. Key presentations were delivered by Dr Aliva Haque, program officer at the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, and Md Hasan Shahriar, head of programs at PROGGA.
