Governance Aspects of Food Safety in Bangladesh:Governance Aspects of Food Safety in Bangladesh: A A comparative look through the global governance modelcomparative look through the global governance model

Md Zahirul Islam KhanMd Zahirul Islam KhanGraduate School of LawGraduate School of LawKyushu University, JapanKyushu 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

ImplicationsHealth

Trade and Economy:

e.g. graphs below explain health and trade implications:

Death by Cause in 2006 in Bangladesh (%)

Accident and Related, 10.04, 10%

Asthma and Related, 17.57, 18%

Infectious Disease, 10, 10%

Indirect Food and related Complcation,

21.54, 22%

Foodborne Illness, 23.58, 23%

Old Age, 17.27, 17%

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)

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2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Financial Year (Represented by end of Year)

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Shrimp

Agro Commodity

Source: Bangladesh Economic Census 2011

Source: Bangladesh Economic Census 2011

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Decision-making

Implementation

Food Safety Governance Framework

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Monitoring

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Participation and Communication

Screening

Framing

ReviewReferral

Terms of References

Evaluation

Tolerablity and Acceptability

Judgment

AssessmentManagement

Global Governance Model for Food Safety(General Framework)

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 Stage

Purpose and procedures Implementation Status in the UK and EU

Implementation Status in Bangladesh

Framing:Governance design as per laws, regulation, Institution, resources

Setting terms of reference, procedure and focus using, e. g., law, institution, regulators

Full implementation undertaken using, for example, up to date law,coordination by regulators, guidelines, and resources

Partially exercised without defining goals as governance model Gaps:No governance design, backdated law, no single regulator, coordination gaps, resources gaps

Assessment Step

1:Screening Step 2:Prevention, precaution, concern or risk based assessment

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

Evaluation (Assessment decisions are evaluated)

Value-based judgment e. g. on tolerability or acceptability prior to management decision

Moderate implementation and full implementation is in experimental stage

Absent and not exercised as governance process Gaps: Evaluation gaps

Management Stage 1:decision making Stage 2 Implementation Stage 3 Monitoring

Selection of appropriate food safety risk decision by Management Board or regulator and decisions are based on prevention, precaution, concern or risk analysis.

Full implementation undertaken

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

Governance Gaps in Bangladesh as per Global Model

Causes of governance gaps

Government’s response gapsSocio-economic factorsUnmanageable 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