Food Adulteration Problem: A Situation Analysis and Way forward

Food adulteration has become one of Bangladesh’s most urgent public health and governance challenges, affecting everything from everyday groceries to street foods. This review draws on secondary research to examine why the problem persists, revealing a system driven by profit incentives, weak oversight, and poor consumer awareness. Adulteration thrives at wholesale and processing stages, where harmful chemicals, dyes, and fillers are routinely introduced into essential foods, leading to rising rates of poisoning, chronic illness, and long-term organ damage. The crisis also undermines economic stability, erodes public trust, and disproportionately harms low-income communities. Although Bangladesh has established regulatory structures like the BFSA, persistent gaps in funding, laboratory capacity, coordination, and enforcement limit their effectiveness. The study proposes a path forward anchored in stronger institutions, specialized courts, modern testing and traceability technologies, farm-to-fork certification, and greater public transparency. Meaningful reform requires collective responsibility across government, industry, and society.