Poisoned coconut oil needs to be destroyed - Patali Campika

Minister Patali Champika said in Parliament that all poisoned coconut oil need s to be destroyed and not re-exported as its not fixed for human consumption. Parliamentarian Ranawaka said that a full scale investigation with scientific input needs to carried out and merely holding stocks in warehouses and armed guards is not the solution to the problem.

 

State minister on Coconut Development Arundika Fernando said that normally when coconut oil is refined the aflatoxin in t is eliminated and in this instance it has not happened.

 

State Minister Arundika Fernando said today that the consignment of cooking oil deemed unfit for human consumption has not been released to the market. A study carried out by researcher Nuwan Karunaratna and others confirmed that nearly 38% of the coconut oil samples found from the open market  were contaminated with aflatoxins.

 

Aflatoxins are  a class of toxic compounds produced by certain moulds found in food, which can cause liver damage and cancer.