Restaurant owners association claims imported chewing gum & toffees drugging schoolchildren

Restaurant Owners Association National Organiser Asela Sampath shows a brand of chewing gum unsuitable for consumption which is available on the market - Pic by Ruwan Walpola

Confectionary items imported from different countries have ended up in Sri Lankan market sans approval from regulatory bodies, putting the younger population at risk, the Restaurant Owners Association warned yesterday. 

Stressing the need to closely regulate and monitor imports, Restaurant Owners Association National Organiser Asela Sampath claimed that some of the confectionary items available at school canteens contained harmful ingredients that were addictive. 

“These are meant to get the children addicted. They are conveniently targeting school canteens. They sell those as they have to reach target sales to ensure they are able to pay the rent and make a profit,” claimed Sampath. 

According to Sampath, a new imported brand of chewing gum which was now available on the market contained “drugs” that are meant to get the children “hooked”. He also claimed that a mouth freshener paper sold at some girls’ schools also had the same effect. 

“These are all brought into the country with no approval. But no one is paying attention. The Health Ministry should pay more attention but they have not done anything about the situation,” he said. 

The association called on the Health Ministry to take immediate action to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. 

“There is no need for fancy raids. We can show you where the issues are. Work with us and we will point out the culprits,” he said. 

Food inspectors and public health inspectors have been tough on eateries over maintaining standards, carrying out raids and forcing deviant restaurant owners to shut down or improve standards.