Nilphamari Correspondent: People's attraction to mouth-watering street foods like jhalmuri, peyaju, beguni, and hot singara remains consistently high, with people of all ages crowding small food stalls and footpaths every day. However, behind the delicious taste and aroma lies a concerning picture for public health. Old newspapers, book pages, notebook pages, and other printed papers are widely used to serve, wrap, and absorb excess oil from these foods. Driven by accessibility and low cost, this long-standing habit is now raising serious questions about food safety.

Across various markets, footpaths, and food shops in Nilphamari, it was observed that newspapers and notebook pages are regularly used to serve items like jhalmuri, chhola, peyaju, beguni, singara, puri, jilapi, paratha, phuchka, achar, and amra. Often, hot and oily foods come into direct contact with printing ink, while the storage conditions of these papers remain unknown. Experts note that printing inks contain various pigments, dyes, binders, solvents, and sometimes heavy metals like lead, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic. According to a 2026 study in Bangladesh on paper food wrappers, varying levels of heavy metals were detected, indicating that old printed papers are unsafe for food contact.