Over 21,000 food establishments inspected during festive season raids: PHI

Colombo, April 20 (Daily Mirror) - A special island-wide food safety inspection programme carried out during the festive season has resulted in widespread inspections and enforcement actions, according to the Sri Lanka Public Health Inspectors Association.

The programme, which began on April 1 and will continue until the end of the festive period, is being implemented by a team of 2,300 Public Health Inspectors deployed across the country.

Sri Lanka Public Health Inspectors Association Secretary Chamil Muthukuda said that as of April 18, a total of 2,114 food raids had been conducted island-wide.

During these operations, 21,796 food establishments were inspected, while 4,308 batches of food items were seized. Of these, 3,044 food items were destroyed due to being unfit for consumption.

Authorities have also filed 1,289 legal cases against offenders found violating food safety regulations.

The inspection programme has been carried out with the aim of ensuring public health safety during the high-demand festive season.