Open sale raises concern

Sodium cyclamate, a harmful artificial sweetener, is still being sold by chemical shops in Dhaka and Chittagong, despite a 2006 ban on its imports and use.

Some unscrupulous traders allegedly use this white, odourless, poisonous chemical as an alternative to sugar to prepare food items including ice cream, sweetmeats, beverages, chocolates, juices and condensed milk.

Susanto Barua, a paediatric consultant at Memon Maternity Hospital in Chittagong, said, “The chemical is 50 times sweeter than sugar. It poses serious threat to both adults and children as it damages the liver and kidneys. Long-term intake may cause cancer.”     

Sellers of the contraband item allege that some businesspeople have been importing the chemical under false declaration of citric acid, sodium citrate or magnesium sulphate as all of them look the same.

The Chittagong Port saw a 63 percent rise in citric acid import in the last 10 months until April.

According to Chittagong Customs House, around 4,055 tonnes of citric acid was imported during the 10 months while the figure was 2,472 tonnes in the same period the previous year.

During visits to different shops in the port city that sell raw materials for the bakery industry, it was seen that some shops were selling sodium cyclamate either in packets or open.

A shop at Al Madani Market was charging Tk 200 to Tk 250 for per kilogram of the chemical imported from China.

The proprietor of the shop claims that different bakers and ice cream manufactures purchase the item, and that he buys it from wholesalers in Mitford of Dhaka.

Some traders import it along with other items that have similar colour and texture, the shop owner said yesterday.

Asked why the shop sells this harmful substance to clients, the shop owner said the government body concerned had not launched any drive against the contraband item.

Besides several traders are openly selling it, he added.

Alleging that the chemical is being imported under false declaration, Mahbub Kabir, a director of Board of Investment, Chittagong division, sent a letter to Chittagong customs on May 31 and urged them to conduct cent percent physical verification of any consignment of citric acid before issuing any clearance certificate.

On receiving the letter, the authority decided to conduct laboratory test of any imported goods related to citric acid.

The director yesterday sent another letter to the Chittagong customs, urging them to follow the same procedure while issuing certificates to the consignments of sodium citrate.

“The colour and texture of sodium cyclamate, sodium citrate, citric acid and magnesium sulphate are almost the same,” Kabir told The Daily Star.

A section of unscrupulous businesspersons takes this advantage while importing the harmful artificial sweetener, he added.

Some traders at Jail Road markets in the port city also sell a cheaper version of sodium cyclamate, which comprises different fertilisers. A staff of a chemical shop in the area said they sell the product at Tk 140 to Tk 150 per kg.

Kabir also collected the adulterated product from Mitford in Dhaka last week and sent its sample to the Soil Resource Development Institute in Dhaka for testing.

The institute confirmed that the sample contained 1.72 percent magnesium and 13.12 percent sulphur, Kabir added.