Does the government feel it necessary to make eggs safe for consumption?

The eggs people are buying for consumption at a high cost – around Tk 15 per piece – have serious problems with edibility.

According to a recent report, eggs produced on farms in Dhaka city have been found to have higher than normal levels of heavy metals.

Zinc, copper, lead and iron are found to be far more than the Maximum Permissible Limit (MPL). Obviously these eggs, if consumed for a long time, can pose serious health risks because of the presence of these heavy metals.

However, the research recently conducted by six researchers from Jagannath University, Bangladesh Council of Science and Industrial Research (BCSIR) and Haji Mohammad Danesh University of Science and Technology looked for the presence of 10 heavy metals in eggs.

The study found the presence of all metals in eggs.

The presence of six metals is within the maximum permissible level (MPL).

But the presence of the remaining four metals viz. zinc, copper, lead and iron were found to be higher than MPL. According to the report, the MPL of copper in eggs is 10, but it was found to be 24.9; MPL of lead is 0.1, but it was found to be up to 1.9; MPL of iron is 17.6, it was found to be up to 64.59 and MPL of zinc is 20, but it is found to be up to 39.26.

According to medical experts, consumption of large quantities of these heavy metals is responsible for various physical problems including cancer, heart disease, breathing problems, anemia, brain-kidney-nerve damage, etc.

Moreover, according to the study, the presence of these heavy metals in eggs poses a greater risk to children and the elderly than to adults.

Since these large quantities of metals come from the chicken feed, to control their presence it is necessary to work at this source.

Sometimes, tannery waste is added to chicken feed as it contains high amounts of protein, which helps the chicken to grow quickly.

This feed contains high levels of heavy metals.

A few days ago, the relevant authorities of the government fixed the price of eggs – retailers cannot sell an egg more than Tk 12.

But it hopelessly failed to implement the order.

To reduce the presence of these heavy metals, it is necessary to monitor chicken feed production to be precise.

Would it be possible for the government to do that?