HEALTH AUTHORITIES DESTROY FOOD UNFIT FOR CONSUMPTION

A large stock of food unfit for consumption was destroyed and traders who violated sanitary and food safety regulations were warned by municipal health authorities during a raid in Ratmalana.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. S.M.R. Odayar said he ordered the raid on public complaints over the insanitary state of hotels, bakeries and catering services in the Dehiwala town. Meanwhile, Municipal MOH Dr. Indika Ellawala said beef, chicken and fish in several hotels had been stored with other food like ice cream and desserts. He said used cooking oil, raw potatoes and rice infested with worms and weevils, Kottu, mushroom, rotten big onion, expired beverages and biscuits were destroyed.

Dr. Odayar said food had been stored without least concern over sanitary regulations in rooms infested with rats, cockroaches, flies and geckoes, while the state of kitchens in several hotels had not been cleaned for a long time.

“It was shocking to find out that vegetables and herbs were washed with water brought from toilets adjacent to the kitchen. Employees in several hotels were wearing dirty clothes. We warned traders to pay attention to the cleanliness of their employees,” he said.

The businessmen who violated food safety and sanitary regulations were severely warned and instructed to improve the standards in their business premises and to inform through the Area PHI for further inspection or else legal action would be taken against them. The CMOH said a team of PHIS was deployed to carry out continual raids to ensure food safety and to protect consumers from any possible danger to their health.

Chief PHI Jayantha Dalukgoda and Area PHIS Wasantha Pushpakumara, W.K. Jayasinghe and S.P. Nanayakkara carried out the raid on the instructions of CMOH Dr. Odayar.