Despite laws and regulations banning the sale of loose edible oil, the practice continues unabated in markets, significantly increasing the risk of health problems, including cancer.

Most of this oil is stored in drums originally used for marketing chemicals, which are not food-grade

Furthermore, transparent packaging allows light to penetrate, gradually destroying the micronutrients in the oil. So, the use of light-block opaque packaging is essential.

Experts emphasised that the sale of loose oil must be stopped and food agencies must enhance their monitoring capacity to ensure the use of opaque, food-grade packaging.

These observations were made at a roundtable discussion titled ‘Opaque Food-Grade Packaging for Preserving Vitamin A in Edible Oil and Health Protection.’

The National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh and Prothom Alo organised the event on Tuesday, at the Prothom Alo office in Dhaka's Karwan Bazar.