Dodgy Food Standards in Badakhshan

Shoppers in Badakhshan in the southeast of Tajikistan are concerned that some of the food on sale in shops and markets could damage their health.

Recent cases where people had to receive medical treatment after consuming out-of-date or spoilt items has led to calls for tighter control over product standards.

A trader at the market in Khorog, the main regional town, said Badakhshan was such a remote and inaccessible part of the country that took a long time to get new items transported in. She added that for this reason, the local hygiene authorities often turn a blind eye if some of the items on sale are past their sell-by date. 

A customer, meanwhile, said unscrupulous traders were exploiting the remoteness of parts of Tajikistan to dump low-quality goods, since people there had little choice. 

The audio programme, in Russian and Tajik, went out on national radio stations in Tajikistan, as part of IWPR project work funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.