Purpose
Ensure accurate, honest, and accessible food labelling across all food products.
Prevent misleading packaging and deceptive health/nutritional claims.
Protect consumers with standardized information in Sinhala, Tamil, and English.
Promote public health by enforcing mandatory nutrition labelling.
Enhance regulation and traceability in food advertising.
Expectations:
All labels must clearly state product name, ingredients, batch number, dates, and origin in 3 languages
Advertising and label claims (e.g., "natural", "pure", "low fat") require prior approval.
Nutrition facts (energy, sugar, fat, etc.) must follow standardized formats.
Special care for vulnerable groups: infants, children, pregnant women.
Strict rules for font size, label layout, misleading imagery, and prohibited terms.
Application and fee procedures for advertising approvals clearly outlined.
The Food (Colour Coding for Sugar Levels – Liquid) Regulations, 2022 were introduced under the Food Act No. 26 of 1980 by the Ministry of Health and Mass Media.
These regulations require color-coded labeling on liquid food and beverage products to indicate sugar content clearly to consumers.
The regulation has been updated multiple times (in 2023 and 2024) to refine implementation details.
Effective Date: The revised regulation will officially take effect on January 1, 2026.
Purpose
To protect public health by helping consumers make informed dietary choices based on sugar content in beverages.
To provide a simple visual warning system (color-coded labels) indicating sugar levels in beverages.
To reduce consumption of high-sugar drinks and prevent related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes and obesity.
To regulate and standardize how sugar content is presented on packaging for better consumer transparency.
Expectations
Applies to:
Carbonated beverages
Ready-to-serve beverages (excluding milk-based drinks)
Fruit nectar
Fruit juices
Color Coding Based on Sugar Content per 100ml (as per Schedule II):
Red: High sugar – more than 11g
Amber: Medium sugar – 2g to 11g
Green: Low sugar – less than 2g
Labels must include,
Numerical sugar content (g/100ml)
Description of sugar level (high, medium, low)
Color code circle of at least 1 cm diameter
Text in Sinhala, Tamil, and English with minimum 1.5mm font height
Purpose
To protect public health by informing consumers about sugar, salt, and fat levels in foods through a simple visual system.
To reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease by encouraging healthier food choices.
To standardize labelling practices for both locally manufactured and imported solid or semi-solid foods.
To ensure transparency and prevent misleading packaging by requiring nutrient information to be clear, visible, and multilingual.
Expectations
Applies to all solid and semi-solid foods, including those requiring preparation or reconstitution if they remain solid or semi-solid.
Covers packaging, sale, advertisement, and display of food items.
Color Coding System (per 100g of food):
Sugar
Red – More than 22 g
Amber – 5 g to 22 g
Green – Less than 5 g
Salt
Red – More than 1.25 g
Amber – 0.25 g to 1.25 g
Green – Less than 0.25 g
Fat
Red – More than 17.5 g
Amber – 3 g to 17.5 g
Green – Less than 3 g
Label Design Requirements:
Logos must be displayed on the main panel (front of pack).
Minimum logo height: 2 cm; minimum width: 1 cm.
Nutrient name and content must be written in Sinhala, Tamil, and English.
Font size: nutrient name – 2 mm, numeric content – 1.5 mm.
Logo colors: Red (high), Amber (medium), Green (low) as per specified RGB values.
Exemptions
Primary agricultural products (e.g., fruits, vegetables, cereals).
Spices, condiments, curry mixtures sold separately.
Infant milk formula, foods for medical use, export-only products, and foods made before June 1, 2019.