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.
According to GMOA, 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.
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.
In this episode of Oba Nodanna Medicine, we discuss the above mentioned issues.