Dhaka, Oct. 15 -- A parliamentary committee has urged the food ministry to fill 6,653 vacant posts through direct recruitment, ending the practice of hiring staff through outsourcing.

The recommendation came at the committee's first meeting at parliament on Thursday, chaired by Abdus Salam Pintu.

A parliamentary secretariat statement said the ministry had reported the vacancies.

The meeting also discussed food adulteration. State Minister Abdul Bari said, "The government is aware of the need to control food adulteration."

He said authorities were strengthening monitoring across food production, processing and marketing, while working to equip food safety offices with mini laboratories and provide vehicles with mobile testing facilitie...