All Ceylon Egg Producers’ Association General Secretary H.M.B.R. Alahakoon said yesterday (22) that imported eggs will pose a risk of bird flu entering the country as well as giving rise to the risk of Salmonella contamination.
Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday, Alahakoon said that importing eggs from India will be harmful to domestic egg production as there is a high risk of various diseases spreading in the country. “Almost all the diseases related to our industry have come from India. In the 1980s, the infectious bursal disease, also known as Gumboro, spread to Sri Lanka when the Indian Peace Keeping Force arrived in Jaffna with their animals. The situation is the same now. At present, there are no Indian soldiers but there are Indian eggs. It was reported that the exportation of eggs from India has decreased. That means that other countries have gradually stopped importing eggs from India. The main reason is the bird flu. Even though the Government claims that there is no bird flu in India, there can be bird flu in Kerala and Tamil Nadu from where we import eggs,” he claimed.
He also said that there will be a high risk of Salmonella contamination if the Government imports liquid eggs to Sri Lanka. “Several officials, including Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Food Security Nalin Fernando have said that they would import liquid eggs. This poses another risk factor. As we know, the eggshell prevents the albumin and the yolk from being contaminated by viruses and bacteria. But once the liquid is exposed to the air, viruses and bacteria can grow quickly, especially a bacterium like Salmonella,” he added.
He also requested the bakery owners to refrain from using these imported eggs to manufacture food items until a proper evaluation is done by laboratory specialists as otherwise, it can give rise to a serious issue in the country.
Meanwhile, the State Trading (General) Corporation stated on Monday (20) that all required steps have been completed to import the first consignment of two million eggs from India. Thereby, the consignment of imported eggs will be shipped to Sri Lanka from the Thooththukudi Port in India.