A.M. Hettiarachchi*, K.K.D.S. Ranaweera and D. Kuruppuarachchi
Food safety and food security are interrelated concepts with a profound impact on the quality of human life. In 2009, the World Summit on Food Security introduced four pillars of food security namely; availability, access, utilization, and stability. However, the scope of food security is insufficiently addressed by the food safety standards. The purpose of this study is to develop an extended framework of standards opposed to food safety management standards considering one additional pillar in food security, which is food safety, with a special reference to edible oil and oilbased products in Sri Lanka. Among 745 Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) registered food preparation facilities, 75 facilities were selected as a stratified random sample. A self-administered online questionnaire was used to identify gaps in local food security practices in edible oil. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 21 and the characteristics of the sample were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of the survey revealed that the Sri Lankan food preparation facilities are significantly behind in food security practices. Considering the deviated areas in the practice, which were identified through our questionnaire, a checklist was developed by giving more attention to the above mentioned deviated areas.
Published Date: 2020-07-21; Received Date: 2020-06-15