The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has detected 104 violations in a special islandwide raid and market inspection programme targeting lunch sheets and LDPE/LLDPE “Sili-Sili” bags, and is taking legal action against the parties involved.
The raids were carried out on 15 September, with preliminary reports from district offices showing violations in 22 districts, the Daily Mirror reported.
Of the violations, around 43 involved lunch sheets, about 58 related to “Sili-Sili” bags, and three involved other polythene products.
The CAA told Hiru News the operation was launched in response to a surge in complaints from consumers and other interested parties about non-compliance with retail regulations.
The two rules being enforced
Lunch sheets and food wrappers must meet the labelling requirements set out in Direction No. 70, published in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2151/58 of 29 November 2019. Stocks that failed to meet those requirements were found in several districts and taken into custody as case productions for court.
Separately, under Direction No. 95, published in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2456/41 of 1 October 2025, LDPE/LLDPE “Sili-Sili” bags cannot be given to consumers free of charge. Where they are supplied, the price must be clearly displayed at the business premises and the amount charged must appear on the consumer’s bill.
What happens next
The CAA said it will run follow-up investigations along the supply chain — covering suppliers, distributors and manufacturers — and take legal action based on what it finds. Goods taken into custody will be produced before the relevant courts, and raids and market inspections will continue islandwide.
The action follows a run of CAA enforcement in recent weeks, including checks on bread weights at 118 outlets and food safety fines in Valachchenai and Kelaniya.
Not reported
Neither outlet gives the districts with the most violations, the value or quantity of stock seized, the penalties traders face, or how many of the 104 parties are retailers rather than manufacturers. It is also unstated why the results of a 15 September operation were released five days later. Ada Derana carried its own report on the enforcement drive, but the page could not be retrieved.
