The Food Safety Act of 2013: A Critical Analysis and Reform Proposals

Abstract

Ensuring food safety through legislative and institutional framework is considered now a vital fast of the state. The government of Bangladesh had also been trying since the independence of this country to regulate the food safety management under proper legislative and institutional interventions. In recent advancements, the food Safety Act of 2013 (FSA2013) in Bangladesh ass enacted for the maintenance of food safety in various meets through monitoring, coordination, testing, investigation and adjudication. However, some inherent loopholes remain inside and such lacunas should be addressed properly within a short period of time to get maximum compliance of food safety management system envisioned under the FSA2013. Problems like bureaucratic dominance in the structure and functioning of the institutions, shortage of manpower and fund, time consuming dispute settlement system, non-inclusion of contemporary factors in find business and food safety, absence of adequate rules for proper coordination etc. may thwart the expected goals to be achieved under this Act. This article is an attempt to and out the loopholes inside the FSA2013 with possible suggestions thereof for the elective, actual and sustainable implementation of the said Act resorting to contemporary problems in various sectors regarding food safety management system in Bangladesh.