News
Hygiene comes last at eateries islandwide
View(s):Health authorities find food cooked in appalling conditions in Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna, writes Mirudhula Thambiah
Polluted water, contaminated food and a general lack of hygiene are nationwide issues. Food handlers in general are indifferent to the wellbeing of consumers – and even themselves.
A PHI officer secures a water sample collected at a eatery during a raid in Pettah
In Kandy, poor food hygiene continues to be a problem, although health inspectors periodically inspect eateries, said former Kandy Mayor and Opposition Municipal Council member, Kesara Senanayake.
“We conduct one raid a month within the Kandy Municipality area, and visit the majority of food outlets, warehouses and grocery shops to collect samples of cooked food and raw food for hygiene testing,” said Kandy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Asoka Senarath. “We find unhygienic food handlers and dirty kitchens at certain eateries.”
Kandy Food Inspector S. S. Wijetunga told the Sunday Times that they recently found raw meat and other cooked food stored in the same freezer at food outlets. “When you store raw and cooked food in the same freezer, you encourage bacterial attack, which results in food poisoning. We told the food handlers to separate these food items. Some eateries were fined.”
Foods past their expiry date are being sold at eateries and grocery stores. “We have taken legal action against the owners of these outlets,” the food inspector said. Substandard personal hygiene and other health issues were noted at hotels, cafes and bakeries where food handlers do not follow the food hygiene regulations under the Food Act.
“We found staff sleeping in the kitchen and putting their clothes, shoes and other belongings inside the kitchen. Utensils filled with cooked food were placed on the floor, and the food was exposed to dust,” Food Inspector S. S. Wijetunga said.
Most of the mobile food outlets operating at night are “kottu shops.” The basic materials for making rotties are prepared three to four days before the kottu is made. Food Inspector Mr. Wijetunga said raids were carried out after consumers complained.
The Chief Medical Officer and the Food Inspector advised the Kandy public to avoid buying lunch packets and other food sold at most of the outlets on Good Shed Road and roads leading to the Kandy railway station. These outlets sell unhygienic food and there are issues of contaminated water in the area.
“There is no proper water supply in the Good Shed area of Kandy town. These eateries bring water from unhygienic sources. Some of these eateries have been prosecuted.” Former Kandy Mayor Mr. Senanayake observed that eateries along the Kandy railway track are negligent about proper garbage disposal.
Last year, the Kandy Municipality conducted 13 raids and prosecuted 40 eateries and warehouses. A total of Rs. 131,000 was collected in fines and the owners of nine eateries were convicted. Charges related mostly to expired food items, food labelling and advertising, and offences against food hygiene.
Hygiene standards are no better in Colombo and Jaffna. Colombo Municipality Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam said that 15 outlets serving food at night were raided last Tuesday. “We found food cooked the previous week. Materials to prepare kottu were past their expiry date. The kitchens were dirty and the food handlers wore dirty clothes.”
“Some of the food handlers were bare-chested. We told them they should wear a proper uniform to cover the whole body so as to avoid passing germs on to the food,” Dr. Kariyawasam said. Out of the 15 eateries, eight will face legal action, while four have been given three months to clean up their act.
In Jaffna, food handlers were found to be serving food with their bare hands and using newspaper to wrap food parcels. Jaffna Food Inspector K. A. Jeevanathan said there are water pollution problems. Most households in Jaffna depend on tube well water. People living in coastal areas experience water shortages and water contamination. “We have requested the people to drinking tube well water. We are conducting awareness programmes to prevent health hazards,” he added.
In Jaffna, 27 food outlets were prosecuted last year, and Rs. 113,500 collected in fines. Early this month, 25 raids were carried out: 100 eateries were given warnings and 10 were prosecuted. A total of 64 cases relating to food poison (including typhoid) were reported last year in Jaffna.
“Food handlers have not been properly trained,” Mr. Jeevananthan said. “They should be given certificates after they complete their hygiene training” he added. Hand washing alone can reduce germ-caused illnesses by 30 per cent, he said.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus