Abstract:
The study was carried out to assess the sanitary conditions in the food outlets of Colombo
Central Electorate. Information was lacking regarding the saaller outlets. One of the main
objectives was to determine and record this information. Food outlets were categorized into
five grades according to size and other criteria in annexure 3. It was observed that there
were 85 precent of food outlets in the smaller grades, and their hygienic conditions were
comparatively poorer than the larger ones. Water was not avilable in sufficient quantities in
some food outlets, which used wells as an additional source. In over 70 percent of premises
sampled, water in the wells was contaminated. A medical examination conducted on food
handlers to determine skin or general lesions likely to contaminate food, showed that there
were general lessions in 6.9 percent and skin lessions in 22.2 percent of food handlers. The
findins indicate that further studies are necessary to formulate effective intervention
programe in the future.
