By Dilanthi Jayamanne
The Public Health Department of the Colombo Municipal Council (PHD CMC) warned eateries and hotels against using imported contaminated spices. Chief of the PHD, Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam said yesterday that laboratory tests carried out on spices purchased by hotels and eateries had revealed fecal coliforms which caused prepared food items to get rancid within a short time.
He told The Island, that the PHD carried out tests on food prepared in hotels and eateries regularly as it was concerned with food hygiene. Many people eat out or eat take away food at home instead of cooking their meals due to busy schedules.
"We first thought that it was due to tube well water. However clean the preparation might be contaminated water in cooking could cause food to get spoilt. Tube well water (ground water) is contaminated with microbes due to the sewers in the city.
"Food could also putrefy due to unhygienic cooking habits of food handlers. Tests revealed salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus which are found in stools and skin infections. So proper washing of hands and medication is a must in order to prevent food from getting contaminated, the PHD Chief said.
"However after addressing the two issues we found that food samples taken from these eating houses continued to spoil within a couple of hours of preparation," he explained.
The PHD only tested spices for physical additives such as colouring and salt. Lab tests revealed that spices of substandard quality purchased in bulk cheaply from India were a major cause for the short life span of cooked food. Majority of the spices were imported and packed locally. The PHD was testing spices in hotels, eateries and those available in super markets, and groceries. The PHD had carried out spice tests in over 20 paces to date, Dr. Kariyawasam added.
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