A STUDY conducted by a research team at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University in Dinajpur in association with Noakhali Science and Technology University has found serious bacterial contamination in 80 per cent of the food samples examined. The study was conducted in 2024, but the findings were published in a Swiss journal named Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology on June 19. The study examined samples such as milk, eggs and animal feed and found the samples contaminated especially with Bacillus cereus, widely found in soil, dust and vegetation, which could cause illness such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea. Such illness can take place in both humans and animals. The bacterium is a common cause of food poisoning, often associated with improper storage. The findings of the study are worrying as, the research lead says, Bacillus cereus is far more widespread than previously assumed in the food supply chain. A situation like this calls for regulatory interventions in the food supply chain across the country. And, the findings also warrant that the government should step up oversight and campaigns as the bacterium can survive normal cooking temperatures.
Studies on food have earlier also come up with findings that question the state of food safety, yet the government is hardly noticed to have shown sincere interests in ensuring food safety. Whilst the findings remain worrying, what is good about them is the method that has been employed to examine the food samples. This is, as the research team says, the successful application of the method known as loop-mediated isothermal amplification, or LAMP, said to be the first of its kind. The research lead says that the method can confirm its findings in 90 minutes, which is far less than the time needed for an examination with a traditional PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, machine, which takes three to five hours. The use of the LAMP method lowers the cost of tests by 57 per cent, from $5.8 a test to $2.5. In many cases using the method, the target bacteria could be identified in 40 minutes, with a full visual confirmation available within 90 minutes. And, this creates an opportunity for the deployment of the method for tests in resource-limited settings where there are no advanced laboratories. The government can deploy the method in such areas to step up its oversight on food safety.
The government needs to protect public health and ensure safe food production and supply. Whilst the government should, therefore, take effective steps to prevent risks to public health, it should work further on the LAMP method and deploy it to ensure food safety.
