New food safety regulations will be introduced from January 1, 2020, Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne has been quoted as saying at the World Food Safety Day held at the BMICH in Colombo recently. He reportedly said the new food safety regulations were being introduced under the Food Act 26 of 1980 to prevent the spread of food borne diseases. Noting that 125,000 people worldwide die of food borne diseases, he said that food hygiene was a pre-requisite for good health and a sustainable life. Citing the World Health Organisation (WHO) he said children below the age of five were particularly affected by sub standard food. Food safety is a challenge for Sri Lanka he was quoted as saying, warning farmers not to use chemicals in agriculture and animal husbandry, and noting that Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology ( CKDu ) which was rampant in some parts of the country, was due to polluted water. Unnamed health sources said factory effluents and contaminated ground water often found its way to wells, tanks and other drinking outlets in many drought stricken areas.
Labelling food items with amount of sugar and salt content compulsory
Manufacturers of food items must hereafter label the amount of sugar and salt content along with other ingredients used in their products following the approval of a proposal submitted by the Health Minister in Parliament recently. The decision was taken due to the rise in Non communicable diseases said to affect over 80 % of the population, largely induced by excessive consumption of salt and sugar, health sources said.
Existing laws insufficient to protect environment - Veddha chief
The Adivasi chieftain Uruwarige Wannila Attho has said that while our ancestors protected the environment for future generations, the present generation did not share the same feeling of responsibility to take care of the environment for the future citizen. At a ceremony to plant jak saplings in Ibbankatuwa, Dambulla, he urged the country’s leaders to protect the environment saying that our colonial rulers had destroyed the indigenous environment by cutting down kithul and other trees. The need of the hour is for more laws and regulations to curb deforestation and the rape of our dwindling forest cover, by replanting them with young saplings from our own local environment, starting at the community level.
Illegal lunch sheet manufacturer nabbed
The Central Environment Authority ( CEA) in a joint raid with the Consumer Affairs Authority ( CAA) and the Police special Unit of the CEA successfully nabbed a manufacturer last week (June26 ) while operating a machine manufacturing lunch sheets that did not conform to the standard requirements. It was reported that the sheets were being made using HDPE, LDPE materials and calcium. Four extruder machines, three cutting machines and two mixtures were being used for the production at the time of the raid. CEA officials were quoted as saying that the factory had violated the National Environmental Act Regulation No 2034/34 of September 1, 2017 and would seek legal action . They advised the pubic to only purchase Food grade lunch sheets with the Sri Lanka Standards Institute stamp.
Rattota Hospital lacks staff, equipment
The Rattota District Hospital has reiterated its complaint of a severe dearth of staff and equipment. Hospital sources were quoted as saying last week, that even though the hospital needs six doctors and four assistant doctors, it had only three doctors and two assistants and very few attendants and labourers. They reportedly said the hospital authority had informed the Provincial Health Ministry about their situation many times but no action had been taken so far.
Police Narcotics Bureau officers nab harmful drugs dealer
Police Narcotics Bureau at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) arrested on Sunday (7) morning a foreign national attempting to smuggle a large haul of methamphetamine also known as ICE worth over 40 million rupees. ICE is said to be one of the most potent and harmful form of methamphetamine leaving lasting scars mentally and physically on users. It has been banned in Sri Lanka but continues to be smuggled despite most entry points to the country being on high alert, informed sources reportedly said.
Lose weight by dieting for a long period
Responding to a question that those trying to lose weight always ask : ‘For how long do I need to diet’? a recent study published in the International Journal of Obesity revealed the exact duration of time one needs to diet to lose weight. The researchers from the University of Copenhagen studied the impact of weight loss for two years and found that the root cause of most diet was that they led to a surge in hunger causing hormones. Sometimes the hormones sensation can be so strong that they feel if they don’t eat they could die, the study said But this acts negatively on the body as the hunger hormones tempt you to eat unhealthy foods which add to the weight. To help with the problem the researchers put 20 obese people on a strict low calorie diet for 8 weeks followed by a 12 month weight maintenance program. During the 12 month weight management program participants regularly met with dieticians and got tips on lifestyle changes and diet tracking calendar. Overall the participants lost 13% of their body weight on an average. The most encouraging outcome was that the blood samples taken after the 12 months showed that the participants were producing less hunger causing hormones and more of a hunger suppressing hormone called GLP-1, the research study found. The verdict was that dieting for one year allows the body to get used to the new weight and lifestyle and to your cravings to allow you to lose weight and also maintain it.