Canned fish had worms, consignments turned back

Sri Lankan consumers are subject to substandard imported products, as indicated by the recent detection of worms by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute in some imported canned fish, which is a very serious issue.

This was stated by Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Science, Technology, Research, Skills Development, Vocational Training and Kandyan Heritage, at the National Conference on World Accreditation Day 2018, under the EU trade-related assistance, held last week in Colombo.

“Recently, there were complaints that there were worms in canned fish that were imported to Sri Lanka and this is a very serious allegation. Obviously this would have been happening for a long period of time and I would say an unsatisfactory product was coming into this country, despite various certifications provided by agencies.”

He said that this serious issue came to light as somebody raised the ‘red flag.’

“Some of the non- social minded importers may be doing this to make a fast buck, but, even though ‘late in the day’ somebody raised the ‘red flag’,” he added.

He said 40 of those under-valued, unsatisfactory commodities were turned back and sent to the original destinations.

He indicated that the members of the public are now puzzled as how these substandard products flow into the country ‘for such a long time’ and noted that every commodity that comes to the country must be thoroughly checked and tested.

Tung-Lai Margue, Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, said that accreditation and certification are vital for the people to keep their lives safe throughout and thus EU places extreme importance in ensuring their citizens are safe.

Societies and people have expectations and have a right to the availability of products and services, he indicated and pointed out that the most critical challenge is to ensure food safety. He said the challenge is for the nine billion people living on planet earth access to sufficient supplies of safe and nutritious food by 2050 and noted, “answering this question is not easy.”

He pointed out that accreditation and certification has important business with EU to adopt best practices and implementing healthy and safe management system. He asserted that accreditation provides marked differentiation and objective proof that products are safe and in the case of Sri Lanka it should think globally and act locally about the quality of its exports.

“This is where we want to invest in your country to ensure food safety and cleaner environment.”

The seminar raised many issues pertaining to safe food. Recent problems with tainted food, drugs, electronic devices and other consumer products have made clear that more needs to be done to protect consumers. Businesses have a responsibility to ensure that their employees, visitors, and customers are able to enjoy freedom from injury or diseases.