Be wary of expired food items - CMC

by Ranil Wijayapala

The Chief Medical Officer of the Colombo Municipal Council, Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam advises the public to check the expiry dates of the sweetmeats they buy from the shops scattered around the Colombo city and other areas, as any expired food they buy will end up in food poisoning ruining their entire New Year season.

He said the Food Inspectors of the Colombo Municipal Council are conducting raids on small boutiques in the Pettah as they are vulnerable areas where expired foods are on sale during the festive season.

"People become victims to these expired food items such as biscuits, cakes and other food as they buy them hastily on their way to catch the bus or the train", he said.

He said many shopkeepers in the Pettah sold their unsold stuff during the festive season as the people bought them without caring about expiry dates.

"So we are vigilant about these shops and conduct continuous raids to nab the shopkeepers who sell expired food", he said.

He said the CMC food inspectors also conduct raids in Pettah to detect rotten food at major warehouses in the city during the festive season as they also released such stuff to the market during the festive season.

"We nabbed a rotten food stock in warehouses in the Pettah and kept them sealed as there is no facility for the CMC to dump them at present. We will keep them in the stores until we get a place to dump the stocks safely", he said.