Week-long campaign were inaugurated at Mohammadpur Krishi Market area on Wednesday. Photo: BSS

DHAKA, Mar 12, 2025 (BSS) – Livestock and nutrition experts today in a programme said that frozen food meat and milk can play an important role in developing safe eating habits among consumers as those are processed and stored in accordance with proper hygiene rules.

They said this while addressing the inauguration of a week-long campaign in capital's Mohammadpur Krishi Market area.

The campaign is being held to increase public awareness about eating frozen meat and milk.

The campaign, which started today, will continue until March 18 with the slogan ‘Aware consumers, healthy families - priority for frozen milk and meat in safe food’.

IRG Development Services Limited (IRG DSL), an independent and multidisciplinary consulting firm in Dhaka, organized this campaign at various places in the capital Dhaka with the support of the World Bank.

Frozen meat and milk are processed and stored in accordance with proper hygiene rules, experts said, adding that therefore, frozen meat and milk are pollution-free and safe.

Frozen food can play an important role in developing safe eating habits among consumers, preventing the spread of food-borne diseases and building a healthy generation, they said.

Dhaka District Livestock Officer Basna Akhter said, "We have to come out of the mindset that frozen food is bad." 

"Frozen food is much safer than the meat we buy from the market," she added.

"If meat is kept in an open place for a long time, it can be contaminated with germs,” she said.

In frozen meat, germs cannot attack, she said, adding that frozen meat and milk are largely free of contamination.

She said that frozen items are popular as healthy foods in developed countries. 

Eminent agricultural and livestock economist Professor Dr S M Fakhrul Islam said, "We need to break the common misconception. Many people think that the taste of food stored in the refrigerator decreases. This is wrong. Modern frozen preservation methods maintain the original taste and quality of food."

Livestock and nutrition expert agriculturist Dr SM Rajiur Rahman said pasteurized milk, cold milk and ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk are pure, healthy and safe as this type of milk is sterilized using high-quality technology.

IRG DSL Chairman Sukharanjan Sutar said, “There is no alternative to raising public awareness to develop safe eating habits. If public awareness is increased, we can reduce the health risks of the coming generation.”