Aflatoxins could be more carcinogenic to children than adults, Senior Professor Arjuna de Silva yesterday said, warning that the impact of aflatoxin contaminated coconut oil would have disastrous consequences.

Aflatoxins usually affect the kidneys and can eventually lead to cancers there.

“This might affect children more. Even their growth can be affected if they are exposed to this for a long time or a sudden large dose,” he said, commenting on the detection of aflatoxins in a shipment of imported coconut oil recently.

Head of the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya said that 80% of coconut oil sold in Sri Lanka was not clean. “Coconut oil is one of the best edible oils in the world. However, people here now consume contaminated coconut oil. This has the potential to be a public health crisis.”

The Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) yesterday said a second test had confirmed that a consignment of imported coconut oil contained high aflatoxins levels. Thus, the consignment would have to be re-exported.

SLSI said the three other companies too had appealed against the outcome of the first round of testing, and their consignments too had been subjected to a second test. The test results would be released today.

The Industrial Technology Institute of Sri Lanka said it would release its test results soon.

The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) will collect 100 random samples of coconut oil that are for sale in the market and subject them to tests, according to Director of the CAA Asela Bandara.