First SLS had not indicated standards for Afolotoxin concentration for any food? If so what is she talking. First there should be standard as it is very hard or impossible to remove all Afolotoxin from local food items such as peanuts, corn, copra, coconut oil etc. For imports there are international standards and we can impose the same but what about local ? Afolotoxin from local production will be as same as imports
Usually the countries that
do not have standards on their own, go by the
UN FAO Codex. eg;
http://www.fao.org/3/y5499e/y5499e.pdf
But it appears that there is some sort of regulatory standard in existence - not ONE but TWO.... Copied from The Sunday Times - 03 April 2021.
"Regulations will be amended to lower the Health Ministry's Food Control Administration Unit (FCAU) set standard of Aflatoxin levels in coconut oil to 10 micrograms/kg to match the level of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI), the FCAU's Director told Times Online.
FCAU Director Dr Thilak Siriwardena said the current controversy surrounding the substanted imported coconut oil had demonstrated the need to have a single standard for both institutions.
Currently, the FCAU's standard for aflatoxin levels is 30 micrograms/kg. Dr Siriwardena stated that regulations will be changed soon to bring that level down to that of SLSI so as to have uniformity.
In the meantime, the FCAU will be collecting between 1500 to 2000 samples of imported coconut oil from various parts of the country for testing, he revealed. This will be done through Public Health Inspectors (PHIs). However, since the current standard for contamination is 30 micrograms/kg, legal action will have to be taken based on this level, he explained. "