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| Kathmandu, Thursday June 19, 2003 Ashadh 05, 2060. |
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Criminal
neglect
It is an alarming
revelation that a substantial number of consumer goods, including pasteurized milk, ghee,
mineral water, noodles and biscuits, are contaminated and that will have harmful effects
on health. Fifteen out of 20 samples of milk marketed by different dairies are said to
contain coliform bacteria that are harmful to human health. This is very alarming
considering the fact that in Nepal, mostly children and the aged are given milk either as
the main food or as food supplement. And they are the ones who are most liable to fall
prey to any harmful consequences that contaminated food bring about. Fortunately, in Nepal
most people boil milk, even pasteurized milk, before it is consumed. As a result, the
harmful bacteria are killed. But that is just a coincidence and many people prefer to take
pasteurized milk without boiling as there is in fact no need to do so. And the tale of
food contamination does not end with milk. Even water marketed in bottles is said to
contain harmful elements. The fact that the people are made to pay for goods that are
contaminated is an indicator of how good governance functions in Nepal and how the number
of consumer societies and forums in existence work for the welfare of the people. Thanks
to the lax attitude that the government, local authorities and consumer society show
towards substandard consumer goods, people have not yet been made the centre of their
focus.
The purity tests
carried out by the government’s own Food Technology and Quality Control unit must be
given due importance. The unit tested 756 samples of consumer goods collected from
different parts of the kingdom. The fact that the unit found so many of them adulterated
and contaminated is a matter of grave concern. The people must not be allowed to pay their
hard-earned money for something that will ultimately harm them. Not taking any action
against the reported cases of contamination is tantamount to criminal neglect on the part
of the government and all others concerned with public safety and welfare.
You really do not
always need a gun or other weapons to kill innocent people. Contaminated food does this
effectively without bringing about the hue and cry associated with murders. But this is
equally bad. The government must bear the main responsibility to ensure that proper laws,
rules and regulations are strictly enforced in processing and distributing food items. The
government may need to take an exemplary action against those responsible for the
manufacture and sale of such items. But equally important is the fact that the consumer
groups that seem to be aligned to political parties, much as student bodies, must rise
above political considerations to keep the interest of the consumers uppermost in their
mind while undertaking anti-contamination measures. They can raise consumer awareness and
ask consumers not to consume any of the goods unless certified as healthy. In the quest
for healthier food and other consumer goods, the government and all other consumer groups
can rest assured that they will have the support of the whole nation. The criminal neglect
shown by successive governments towards this serious public health problem must be
rectified as early as possible. |
