The Ministry of Science and Technology has launched a national programme named “V-Pramithi” to monitor the quality and safety of consumer goods sold in the Sri Lankan market, beginning with inspections at the Pettah Public Market on Tuesday (July 28).
As the first step of the initiative, officials inspected shops at the market and collected random samples of consumer goods, including street food, coconut oil, jaggery, treacle, spices, cosmetics, toys and electrical appliances. The samples will undergo laboratory testing to assess their standards, composition and safety levels, Ada Derana reported.
Science and Technology Minister Professor Chrishantha Abeysena said the programme is expected to carry out comprehensive assessments of everyday consumer goods and to provide technical guidance ensuring that food, beverages and other products entering the market are free of harmful substances, including toxins and heavy metals.
The Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI), the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) and the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board are providing technical support. The programme is being implemented by the Science and Technology Ministry with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health, the Consumer Affairs Authority and Sri Lanka Police. Officials from those institutions, Public Health Inspectors and representatives of technical agencies attended the launch.
Authorities said the inspections will continue beyond the opening round, with the aim of keeping quality-assured products in circulation and preventing unsafe goods from reaching the public. The initiative is also intended to raise consumer awareness about buying safe and reliable products, and to encourage manufacturers and traders to maintain proper quality standards.
The programme was introduced in line with the government’s “Clean Sri Lanka” initiative and is being run alongside National Integrity Week.
Pettah is Colombo’s largest and busiest wholesale and retail trading district, making it a focal point for market-wide checks of this kind. The SLSI is Sri Lanka’s national standards body, responsible for developing product specifications, testing methods and safety requirements, while the ITI carries out industrial and analytical testing.
