Public health experts have said that the active and objective role of the media is essential to ensure safe food and to make the movement to prevent non-communicable diseases including high blood pressure and diabetes a success. They said that it is the need of the hour to implement a clear front-of-pack labeling (FOPL) policy on packaged products to immediately alert consumers about the presence of harmful ingredients such as excess salt, sugar and trans fats in food.
The speakers made these remarks at a workshop titled “Media Campaign on Front of Packaged Food Labeling (FOPL) in Bangladesh” organized by the Health and Nutrition Sector of Dhaka Ahsania Mission at the Bishwa Sahitya Kendra in the capital on Tuesday (July 28).
The workshop was informed that according to the World Health Organization, about 70 percent of the total deaths in Bangladesh are due to non-communicable diseases. Uncontrolled and processed foods play a major role in this. Under the current rules, nutritional values are written in complex and very small letters on the back of the packaging, which is not possible for ordinary buyers to understand. As a result, people are unknowingly buying harmful foods and putting their health at risk.