CDA tab on adulteration of coconut oil

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

COCONUT OIL: Coconut Development Authority is to keep a tab on adulteration of coconut oil taking place in the country causing severe health hazards to consumers.

A committee was appointed at a meeting chaired by the Chairman CDA D.J.U. Purasinghe at his office on Monday.

This committee which would monitor adulteration of coconut oil by various establishments consists of representatives from the Consumer Affairs Authority the Ministry of Health, the Colombo Municipal Council, Coconut Growers' Association and the Institute of Technology.

Purasinghe said that the total requirement of coconut oil is 170,000 tonnes and the local production is only 25,000 tonnes. However the gap is bridged locally by mixing available coconut oil with imported palm oil and sent to the market with coconut oil labels.

He said this is happening because the existing system of monitoring is not effective. According to the new system, the composition of coconut oil and palm oil has to be mentioned in the label, inferior products will not be allowed, and importers will have to submit a certificate from an accredited laboratory.

Chairman Purasinghe also said that the committee will focus on three key areas such as collecting information, developing a monitoring strategy to investigate the extent of the problem and finally developing a plan of action to rectify the problem.