Imported milk powder harmful to health-GMOA | Sunday Observer

Imported milk powder harmful to health-GMOA

26 January, 2020

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) and the Health Ministry launched a joint program to educate the public on health dangers of imported milk powder at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) on January 20.

The Health Ministry Secretary Bhadrani Jayawardena, Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe, GMOA President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya, GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge, GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Navin De Zoysa, GMOA Media Spokesman Dr. Samantha Ananda and GMOA officials were present at the event where leaflets were distributed among people to raise awareness on health dangers of imported milk powder.

According to GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge, Rs. 54 billion had been spent on imported milk powder in 2018 and this amount has been reduced by Rs. 20 million due to awareness created among consumers of health dangers of imported milk.

According to the Consumer Affairs Authority Committee Report, milk powder is a food item in the High Risk Category. The expert committee was appointed following a request made by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

One leading multinational company which imports milk powder to Sri Lanka has stated in its web site that milk powder had been produced adding Palm Oil to cut cost and make profits. “The company has not responded to the issue yet. Palm oil is cancerous. The imported milk powder is actually not milk”, he said.

The interim report notes that imported milk powder had not been given to the 225 members in the Parliament. They are being given liquid milk and pasteurized milk. The report recommends consumption of domestic liquid milk instead of imported fat filled milk powder. The report notes that adulteration of imported milk powder within a range of 40 percent often done by private companies cannot be detected using the existing methods of testing.

The report recommends that all existing rules and regulations such as Food Act, Consumer Affairs Authority Act should be further strengthened to protect consumers. It proposes educating school children on consuming nutritious food produced locally instead of consuming imported powdered milk.

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