City Research Online

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of food safety policies on urban poor's food shopping practices in retail environments in Bangladesh. While national food policies focus on food access, they often overlook food safety in informal settlements. Using a mixed-methods approach, including a review of national policy documents, interviews with shoppers, and stakeholder surveys, we identified strengths and weaknesses in Bangladesh's food safety governance. The analysis shows that while policy documents acknowledge consumer concerns, key weaknesses include unclear roles of local government, unspecified timelines, ambiguous budgets, inadequate monitoring, and lack of cohesive societal transformation planning. These shortcomings potentially render policies ineffective and erode public trust. Stakeholder analysis highlights scepticism about current policies addressing food safety for the urban poor, emphasising the need for distinct, urban-focused policies. We recommend reassessing and restructuring retail food policies to enhance stakeholder engagements, prioritising the urban poor's perspectives, and implementing strategies that address diverse socio-economic groups. This approach is critical for advancing food safety in urban Bangladesh and other Global South countries.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher Keywords:	Food policy, Food safety, Urban poor, Urbanisation, Food retail environment, Bangladesh
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Departments:	School of Health & Medical Sciences School of Health & Medical Sciences > Healthcare Services Research & Management
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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