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Pasta
distributor could face charges under Food Act Director S.L. Ginige told The Sunday Times that all foodstuffs must clearly indicate what kind of food is contained inside the tins or packs. In this case, thousands of tins with labels containing pictures of cats and dogs were distributed to tsunami victims, many of whom fell sick soon after consuming the contents. The tins had a date printed on them, but it did not specifically mention whether it was the expiry date of the food as is required under the Food Act regulations. The import or distribution of food violating such regulations was a punishable offence. A non-governmental relief organisation helping tsunami victims last month distributed thousands of tins, imported from Britain, and reportedly containing pasta, but the label on the tins carried figures of pets. Officials of the organisation claim the people may have fallen sick because the pasta was probably not cooked according to the directions contained on the tins. Public Health Inspectors in the Hambantota area seized some 46,000 tins after the tsunami victims fell sick, and appealed to the public not to consume any more of their contents until an investigation was conducted into the matter. Samples have been sent to the Medical Research institute (MRI) by the Director of Health Services for the Hambantota district, Dr.S.A.H. Liyanage. nearly four weeks after the incidents took place. " We are still awaiting the MRI report to complete our investigations. The PHIs acted following complaints by tsunami victims that they began vomiting soon after consuming the food. They had thought they had consumed pet food. Some of them also showed signs of allergy ", he said. Meanwhile the organisation involved in the distribution of the food has requested Dr. Liyanage to issue a certificate that the food was not meant for pets, but meant for human consumption. The relief organisation known as the Islamic Relief Committee (ISRC) has claimed it had received a letter from the manufacturers in the UK that the food was fit for human consumption. ISRC General Secretary Hasanar Mohamed Mihlar said the PHIs had 'mistaken' the food for pet food after seeing the labels on the tins. The ISRC, a sister concern of Muslim Hands in Nottingham, UK, had also been part of a fund-raising campaign for the UK based Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), whose logo with cats and dogs is carried on the labels of the tins, confusing the issue still further. |
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