Rajitha rejects claims of contaminants in imported milk

• Insists at least three levels of testing done on all imports 
• NZ milk powder comes with a NZ Govt. assurance on quality 
• Milk powder imports released to market only after tests completed   
  
   

By Divya Thotawatte

Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne yesterday rejected claims of contaminants in imported milk power insisting all imports were on par with local and international standards with tests done by both the State and companies before before being released to the public. 

Speaking to reporters, the Minister outlined the tripartite testing process. Currently, milk powder imports are tested by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI), Customs and the Health Ministry. He was confident that since milk imports were checked and tested repeatedly by different parties, the milk was free of contaminants and safe for consumption. 

“People might say different things about importing powdered milk but it is necessary to have our actions grounded by scientific confirmation and research. That has been done. The milk that we export has been tested and been verified as without added contaminants,” he said.  

He explained that as only 10% supply of liquid milk is produced in Sri Lanka, the other 90% is supplied through imported powdered milk, and therefore it would be nearly impossible to depend wholly on Sri Lankan milk production.

Environmental Health, Occupational Health and Food Safety Deputy Director General Dr. Lakshman Gamlath, which is under the Health Ministry, explained that since milk is an internationally traded item of food, there is an international standard for powdered milk established by the international organisation Codex Alimentations Commission, which is a joint venture of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). 

The international standard designated for powdered milk is 207/2018 and the Sri Lankan standard SLS731 has been developed by SLSI based on the former. 

According to him, any food item that is imported to the country, will be tested against the Sri Lankan standards. He said that the consignments are first checked for exporters’ certification, which in this case, is from the Ministry of Primary Industries of New Zealand. 

“The certificate given by the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries states that the milk is derived from animals of New Zealand origin; New Zealand has cattle, but there are no pigs in the country. So there is also no pork milk or fat. The produce is in accordance with 11 international standards for milk powder, also required by Sri Lankan standards. It states that the milk does not contain added melamine, fat of non-dairy origin, and does not exceed international limits for radioactivity levels. This is the New Zealand Government’s assurance,” he explained. 

Experts present at the press conference confirmed that the consignments of milk imports that arrive in Sri Lanka are tested by Customs, and then samples of the powdered milk is sent to government approval laboratories such as the SLSI laboratory, National Institute of Health Sciences laboratory in Kalutara, and the Atomic Energy Board to be tested again. 

According to them, international food safety networks such as Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), and International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) are also involved in ensuring that the milk imports are safe and up to standard for consumption. They said that it was only after the milk has been tested and approved that the consignment would be released to the market.