By Lal Gunesekera
With Typhoid and Hepatitis raising its ugly head in Colombo again, the Public Health Department (PHD) of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) with the assistance of the local police have commenced raids on eateries and star class hotels in the metropolis.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the CMC Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam told The Island that the CMC will not issue any food licences to food outlets and even star class hotels unless they adhere to CMC rules and regulations to conduct medical/blood tests on all their employees who handle food and that the CMC has now decided to take charge of all these tests/examinations in their own laboratories.
He said that the CMC has detected sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among certain food handlers and is treating them.
He said they have also tested more than 1000 employees for Tubercolosis (TB) and that there are many more to be tested.
Sources told The Island that since April this year (2011), legal action has been taken against 265 food outlets after more than 800 raids in Colombo. The CMC had sealed outlets in Pettah, Grandpass, Keselwatte and Dematagoda after tests proved faecal matter in water used for cooking purposes obtained from tube wells which were contaminated.
The Island was also learns that two popular food outlets in Pelawatte, Battaramulla too was sealed for unhygienic conditions, but were now opened for business.
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