“Is there any health risk of this locally made Mughlai paratha?”
An enormous amount of people eat out in Bangladesh. If we assume that every restaurant in Bangladesh is visited by 100 people daily, our restaurants are feeding a restaurant larger than the total population of Ireland in a single day! Nationally there are over 50000 registered restaurants, employing approximately 1.5 million people.
However, the figure above only includes upper-end restaurants; let’s not forget about our humble street vendors. How many of them provide nutritious meals high in vegetables and fruit?
The average Bengali person consumes less than half of the amount of fruits and vegetables recommended by the World Health Organization which says that a minimum daily intake of 400 grams of fruits and vegetables is vital to prevent diet-related diseases and malnutrition.
This is due to traditional rice-based diets and the high prices of vegetables in the country.
Dear Readers, what vegetable meals are available in Bangladesh on a commercial scale? What might come to mind are: vegetable singaras and samosas, some bhortas, sake bhajis, dhal and some vegetables. Is this limited range enough though?
All restaurants have a role in promoting healthy eating habits in our society. In Bangladesh, we have 100 different types of vegetables and 50 different types of fruits. The broad range of available products means there is plenty of opportunities for restaurant owners to restyle their menus to accommodate new healthy meals. Not only will an increase in vegetable meals improve a restaurant’s reputation and contribute to overall public health but it also will create the farming community by creating more jobs.
Whatever social media platform you operate on or however big or small your restaurant, you have a duty to promote healthy eating as your social responsibility.
Please think and have your share of success. Take care.
