Home ›› 03 Dec 2022 ›› Front
Bypassing the ban on the import of sodium cyclamate, errant traders continue to import the contraband artificial sweetener, better known as ghono chini, under false declaration posing a threat to public health.
The Bangladesh Food Safety Act bans the import, production or use of sodium cyclamate in any form in Bangladesh and it is a punishable offence.
The Custom House Chattogram has detected several consignments of sodium cyclamate imported under false declaration and in the past few months, the demand for the artificial sweetener in the market increased sharply following the unusual price hike of regular sugar by Tk30 to Tk40.
Saiful Haque, deputy commissioner of the Audit, Investigation and Research (AIR) section of Custom House Chattogram, said, “Importers of the product are opportunists. They utilise the vacuum created during the transfer of commissioners of Custom House to release their illegal shipments.”
Sodium cyclamate is 30 to 50 times sweeter than normal sugar. It is stable under heat and is commonly used in baked foods where other artificial sweeteners cannot be used.
Sodium cyclamate, which looks alike Citric Acid and Sodium Citrate, is not produced in Bangladesh and it is imported under false declaration. Hrida International of Bangshal in Dhaka recently announced to import encoded Calcium Carbonate powder from China which is used as raw material for plastic, rubber, colour, paper, detergent, and the medicine industry. But the company brought a consignment of sodium cyclamate and the AIR branch of Chattogram Custom House detected it at the port. And the chemical tests found of the 20,000-kg consignment, 14,000 kg was sodium cyclamate and the remaining 6,000 kg was Calcium Carbonate.
Sodium cyclamate is used in foods and beverages like ice cream, sweetmeats, and juice or drinks for more profit because it is cheap. For preparing different food items, one per cent Sodium cyclamate is used with 10 per cent saccharine.
Public health specialist Dr Simanta Wadeddar told The Business Post that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States has banned the use of sodium cyclamate considering its health risks.
“The key ingredient of sugar is sucrose while sodium cyclamate is one kind of artificial sweetener which is around 50 per cent sweeter compared to normal sugar and it is much cheaper than sugar.”, he said.
Sodium cyclamate was invented in 1937, 50 years after the invention of saccharine which is stable under heat and long-lasting. But the UK banned it in 1960 and the US in 1969 although more than 80 European countries still consider sodium cyclamate safe for consumption.
It is claimed that sodium cyclamate potentially damages the animal embryo and also contribute to developing different ailment of the digestive system, mental health and cardiovascular system, Dr Simanta said.
“Although artificially made sodium cyclamate of recent time does not have any side-effects but it puts different adverse impacts on human health. Many claim that it causes insomnia, vomiting, abdominal pain, frustration, memory loss, irregular heartbeat and neurological cancer,” he added.
Chattogram Custom House sources said that they seized several shipments of sodium cyclamate in the current fiscal year. In September, local importer Adhrota Brothers brought 19,450 kgs of sodium cyclamate at Chattogram port in the name of encoded calcium carbonate. In June, M/S Niloy Enterprise and M/S Asia Corporation also bought more shipments in the name of sodium sulfate anhydrase and aspartame powder, respectively.
Before that on May 18, another importer DSS Enterprise of Bangshal in Dhaka imported 19 tonnes of sodium cyclamate at Chattogram port while Sujana Trading of Chattogram’s Sadarghat area also brought another shipment in the name of disodium carbonate. Successively, these shipments were seized by the Chattogram Custom House.
Former acting chairman of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BSFA), Mahbub Kabir said, “The matter of using sodium cyclamate in food came into light during my tenure which was available in the market at cheap rate and was mixed with poisonous magnesium sulfate.”
A kilogram of sodium cyclamate fulfils the requirement of 50 kgs of real sugar which is extremely devastating for human health, he said, adding that, the nutrition unit of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) collected samples of different branded and non-branded sugars from the markets and send them to an accredited laboratory of Singapore for testing the presence of sodium cyclamate.
The scrutiny found sodium cyclamate in all four samples that were collected from 12 brands and shops like Number One, Sugarcane, Teer, Fresh, Refine Sugar, ACI, Igloo, Deshi, Health Care and Swapno, he said.
“This artificial sweetener is used in making baked sweet food which is mainly popular among children. Despite being restricted, importers are bringing it unboundedly”, he added.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Vice President SM Nazer Hossain told The Business Post that the customs authorities should remain alert to restrict the illegal imports of sodium cyclamate.
“Unfortunately, some customs officials are also involved in the release of these illegal shipments,” he said.
On the other hand, local administrations also fail to conduct adequate monitoring in the markets while CAB has a shortage of manpower, he said, adding that, as a result, dishonest traders are continuing their illegal works without any hesitations.
