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Rotten fruit juice and spoilt onions: CAA steps up raids during festive season
View(s):Festive shopping on a warm day can be exhausting and many people settle for a quick maalu pan or elavalu roti and a glass of fresh fruit juice, little realising what they are eating are spoilt potatoes or onions and their juice is made out of rotten fruits.
Investigations by Consumer Affairs Authority officials following the detection of 200,000 rotten Australian oranges in Wattala have revealed the fruits were to be sold to several cool spots and restaurants.
Trade Ministry spokesman Nipuna Ekanayake said the trader could have earned Rs. 8 million by selling the rotten oranges during the New Year season.
“Unsuspecting people drink fruit juices thinking that they are better than carbonated drinks. Unfortunately, these oranges were rotten, squashed and there were fungi on them,” he said.
In another raid, the CAA detected 25,000 spoilt oranges imported from China. During investigations, the trader had admitted he was mixing the rotten fruits with the good ones and selling them in Pettah during the festive season. The suspect was fined Rs. 75,000 and the oranges were ordered to be destroyed by Maligakanda Magistrate Courts.
Weeks ago, Colombo’s public health officers found about 6,000 kilos of rotten potatoes ready to be sold to city eateries.
In yet another raid on a warehouse in Welisara last week, authorities detected 80,000 kilograms of onions not suitable for consumption. They were to be sold to eateries and bakeries.
The detection came as a warning to the public that some of the pastries and meals they buy from outlets might have been flavoured with rotten onions.According to Mr. Ekanayake, the CAA had stepped up raids and investigations during this festive season to curb unscrupulous traders selling rotten items to people shopping in towns for Avurudu or waiting at public bus stands to catch a bus to go to their villages.
He said that in addition to raids on warehouses and food outlets, the CAA would also act on public complaints and check whether shops issue bills, and display prices.
But he also warned that some criminal elements were also posing as CAA officials and demanding bribes from traders.