News
President quashes bid to release contaminated canned fish stocks, orders reshipment
President Maithripala Sirisena has ordered that a large stock of contaminated canned-fish be reshipped to the country of origin after he rejected a request by a Cabinet sub committee to release the five-months-old stocks to the markets.
The Presidential directive came at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting after the Cabinet Sub Committee on Cost of Living submitted a proposal seeking the release of 31 canned-fish containers held back following detection of worms in some cans.
The Cabinet Sub Committee had noted that at a meeting attended by officials of the Customs, the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, the Health Ministry, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Department of Commerce and Investment, it had been decided that the stocks were suitable for consumption and could be released to the markets.
However, when the proposal was taken up for discussion at the Cabinet meeting, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said he was not aware of the ministry approval. Inquiries revealed that the two Health Ministry officials involved in granting approval were overseas.
The stocks of canned-fish were imported from China and were held back after checks on some of the samples revealed that they were contaminated with dead worms.
The Sri Lanka Standards Institution said it had given approval for the release of the containers after it sought the Attorney General’s advice. SLSI Director General Dr Siddika G. Senaratne said the SLSI approval was based on the Food Act, according to which, if a can had not more than two worms, it could be released to the market.
The Health Ministry will now gazette fresh regulations to enable the Customs to reject the stocks even if one worm was detected in a sample.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Senaratne has directed Health Services Director General Dr Anil Jasinghe to carry out an inquiry against the two officials attached to the Environmental Health Unit for granting approval for the release of the stocks and thereafter travelling overseas.