On the eve of World Nutrition Day, health advocates are stressing the critical role of vitamin-fortified edible oils in combating nutritional deficiencies and improving public health in Bangladesh.
Despite legislative measures, the sale of bulk edible oil in unhealthy drums continues to pose significant health risks, they said, reads a press release.
A study by ICDDR,B in 2017 revealed that 65% of edible oil sold in Bangladesh is marketed in drums, with 59% lacking vitamin-A fortification and 34% being poorly fortified.
This situation undermines the 2013 Vitamin Fortification in Edible Oil Act.
In response, the Ministry of Industry issued an executive order to phase out bulk soybean oil sold in drums by July 2022 and bulk palm oil by December 2022. However, the implementation of this order remains inadequate.
"Combating country-wide micronutrient deficiency, the government has already enacted the Vitamin ‘A’ fortification in Edible Oil Act. In order to ensure the nutritional quality of edible oil, the sale of loose edible oil in unhealthy drums should be stopped," said ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress), a research and advocacy organization.
The National Micronutrient Survey 2019-20 highlighted the severe impact of vitamin-A deficiency in Bangladesh, with 50.9% of children aged 6-59 months and 7.5% of non-lactating or non-pregnant women affected.
This deficiency can lead to serious health issues, including blindness and maternal death during pregnancy, reads a press release.
