Canned fish had worms, consignments turned back

Sri Lankan consumers are subject to substandard imported products, as indicated by the recent detection of worms by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute in some imported canned fish, which is a very serious issue.
This was stated by Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Science, Technology, Research, Skills Development, Vocational Training and Kandyan Heritage, at the National Conference on World Accreditation Day 2018, under the EU trade-related assistance, held on Thursday at Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo.
“Recently, there were complaints that there were worms in canned fish that were imported to Sri Lanka and this is a very serious allegation. Obviously this would have been happening for a long period of time and I would say an unsatisfactory product was coming into this country, despite various certifications provided by agencies”.
He said that this serious issue came to light as somebody raised the ‘red flag’.
“Some of the non-social minded importers may be doing this to make a fast buck, but, even though ‘late in the day’ somebody raised the ‘red flag’,” he added. 
He said 40 of those under-valued, unsatisfactory commodities were turned back and sent to the original destinations.  
He indicated that the members of the public are now puzzled as how these substandard products flow into the country ‘for such a long time’ and noted that every commodity that comes to the country must be thoroughly checked and tested. (QP)