More spoilt food galore

Short eats under close scutiny:

by Carol Aloysius

All short eats sold in the city have come under the scrutiny of food authorities following rising complaints of contaminated food being sold in Colombo's food outlets.

"The complaints regarding sub standard short eats have zoomed in the past few months especially before and during religious and national festivals, with several owners of boutiques, restaurants, cafes and even star class hotels being taken to court and fined", Chief Food Inspector, Colombo Municipal Council, Lal Kumara told the Sunday Observer.

He said food outlets run on the premises of various houses were among the worst offenders. "They sell food cooked early morning , throughout the day without keeping them in their hot cupboards to save on electricity. The food is also exposed to flies and ants, and handled unhygienically.

They use old oil and refry the food several times. They also wrap food in newspapers which stains the food with lead.

This is why communicable and non communicable diseases are on the rise", he charged.

He said most of these outlets run by individuals were not registered with the CMC. " It is a violation to run a food outlet without being registered as it has to be properly inspected," he noted.

He said during the recent Ramazan festival, PHI's found food with spoilt ingredients and sweetmeats such as Boondhi and toffees being sold with harmful dyes, in several wayside boutiques especially in the Fort and the Pettah. " We have already made several arrests and taken the owners to courts", he said.

He appealed to the public for help to detect offenders of the Food Law. Complaints of substandard food should be made to 2676161 or the nearest PHI in their respective area, he said.