The Health Ministry has also focused special attention on the sale of unhygienic and outdated canned food items and soft drinks which are freely available in supermarkets, groceries, hotels, cafeterias and other food outlets.

The public should be cautious when purchasing outdated soft drinks and canned food items, said Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena.

He said that products that carry the Sri Lanka Standard (SLS) label and the expiry date could be considered high quality items. He called upon elders to be vigilant over cheap and unhygienic soft drinks manufactured by certain people with the sole intention of earning fast bucks.