The Sri Lankan government plans to introduce a colour coding system for all solid food items, effective from 1 June of this year, following the success of the colour coding system for sugar content in beverages in effect from August 2016.

Speaking at a recent seminar, Deputy Director General of Environmental, Occupational Health and Food Safety of the Ministry of Health Dr. L. T. Gamlath said: “The lack of a regulatory mechanism has resulted in consumption of low quality food and the cleanliness of the food handlers is also a big issue, as both transportation and distribution is done by the same person.”

With trends indicating a rise in obesity and the frequency of noncommunicable diseases amongst Sri Lankans, Head of the Nutrition Division of the Medical Research Institute Dr. Renuka Jayatissa believes that front of pack (FOP) labelling will help communicate complex information to consumers and bring change in consumer behaviour.