We conducted this exploratory study in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We collected both secondary and primary data during 2006-2013 to address our study objectives.
We reviewed aggregated yearly results of food samples tested at the Public Health Food Laboratory (PHFL) of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) from January 2001 to October 2006. The results included types and number of tested food samples, test reports as adulterated or pure, and comments. The sanitary inspectors collect both open and packaged food samples from 10 zones of DCC every month based on their suspicion, seasonal factor, and public opinion. They also collect packaged food samples with BSTI certification marks. There are 107 food items in the Pure Food Rules but all the food items are not collected for testing. The public food analyst tests the food samples according to the standard set in The Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 1959 and The Bangladesh Pure Food Rules, 1967. All the tests are not done as per standard due to lack of equipment. A food sample is reported as adulterated if it does not conform to the standard. The PHFL of DCC cannot detect the nature and quantity of chemicals, artificial food colours, or quantify the presence of permitted food additives due to lack of equipment. The sanitary inspectors can suspect what substances are added to it from their experience. If a food item is found pure by testing on several occasions, it is assumed that it is not adulterated, and sample of that food item is not tested for some time. We also reviewed lay press reports on food adulteration during 1995-2011.
We collected information from the BSTI on food sample testing results during 2005-2006 but details were unavailable due to confidentiality of the reports. We reviewed issues of ‘Consumer Voice’, the official bimonthly publication of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB). We also reviewed the reports on mobile food court operations collected from a metropolitan magistrate of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court conducting mobile food court raids.
We identified commonly-adulterated food items and common adulterants by reviewing the food sample testing results of the PHFL of DCC and reports on food adulteration published in the Bangla newspaper ‘The Daily Ittefaq’ and the English newspaper ‘The Daily Star’ in 2005. We collected clippings of newspaper reports from the Consumer Association of Bangladesh office where records of all news on food adulteration and other consumer-related issues published in the newspapers are regularly maintained. The reports in the newspapers are based on information collected from different stakeholders.
We conducted a cross-sectional survey in eight DCC Kutcha bazaars (kitchen markets) among 96 adult male and female respondents during November 2006. As data on the proportion of consumers having some knowledge on food adulteration were unavailable from published literature, our estimated sample-size was 96 for the cross-sectional survey assuming that 50% of our respondents will have knowledge about food adulteration with 95% confidence level and allowing 10% error. We included respondents residing in Dhaka for at least 2 years and not involved in food trade. From a list of kutcha bazaars (kitchen markets) in eight zones of DCC, we selected one kutcha bazaar from each zone by lottery. In each kutcha bazaar, we randomly selected the first consumer and, thereafter, every 5th consumer according to inclusion criteria till 12 consumers were interviewed. We administered a standardized questionnaire outside one of the entrances of the markets. We collected information on sociodemographics and food adulteration-related knowledge, attitude, and practices.
We conducted informal discussions with key stakeholders engaged in public health, including a public food analyst, a sanitary inspector, a metropolitan magistrate, and a staff at one of the DCC offices to explore relevant aspects on food adulteration.
We calculated the proportion of adulteration of each food item from the results of food sample testing at DCC laboratory. We performed chi-square test for linear trend to assess the temporal trend during 2001-2005. We performed two-sample test of proportions (Z-test) to assess the proportion of food samples found adulterated during 2005 and 2006 as an indicator of impact of mobile food court operation on food adulteration situation in 2006 compared to that in 2005. Since this is an exploratory study, we report knowledge, attitude, and practices as frequencies and percentages.
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