Sri Lanka has tightened the sugar thresholds that trigger a red warning label on sweetened beverages and other liquid food products, under an Extraordinary Gazette signed by Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.
The amendments, issued under Section 32 of the Food Act No. 26 of 1980 and published in the Extraordinary Gazette dated 23 June, revise the design and display rules for the red, amber and green colour-code logos that manufacturers must carry on packaging for sugar-containing liquid foods.
Under the new schedule, a liquid product containing more than 8.0 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres must carry a red label — down from the previous 11-gram threshold. Products with 2.5 to 8.0 grams per 100 millilitres carry an amber label, and beverages with less than 2.5 grams per 100 millilitres qualify for a green label.
The gazette also introduces an alternative logo that can be used on glass bottles and similar packaging where printable surface area is limited, and defines a new “business to business food products” category covering items sold for further processing, preparation or resale rather than direct consumer consumption.
The tighter red-label trigger sits within a wider public-health push against sugary drinks. The Health Ministry banned junk food and sugary beverages from school canteens in a June 21 circular, following ministry warnings that 17.4% of Sri Lankan schoolchildren aged 13-17 consume carbonated drinks daily. An Institute of Policy Studies study in May had found gaps in the existing sugar tax and traffic-light labelling regime, particularly for low-income consumers.
