Label rules › Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka label requirements for packaging

Packaged food sold in Sri Lanka is labelled under regulations made by the Minister of Health under the Food Act, No. 26 of 1980, overseen by the Food Control Administration Unit. Since 1 July 2026 the Food (Labelling and Advertising) Regulations 2026 apply; they replace the 2005 regulations and the 2022 ones that never fully came into force, and do not apply to food made before that date. Beside them, the colour-coding regulations put a red, amber or green logo for sugar, salt and fat on the front of the pack. Here is what goes on it.

Checked: 27 October 2026

Mandatory items

The main panel

The common name of the food, in bold, in all three languages — Sinhala, Tamil and English — or in two of them on the main panel and the third on any panel. Its letters are at least a third the height of the trade or brand name, whichever is larger, and never under 3 mm; a name of several words is set in one type and size. The trade or brand name may be in any language but must not mislead.

The net contents in SI units — g or kg for solids, ml or l for liquids, and the drained weight for food packed in a liquid. Net contents, the date of manufacture and the expiry date are bold, at least 1.5 mm high on a main panel up to 120 cm² and 3 mm above it (Schedule III).

Any panel

In one or more of the three languages: every ingredient by its common name, heaviest first, with additives by name and INS number — and gluten cereals, crustacea, eggs, fish, peanuts and soy, milk and tree nuts named even when they are only processing aids; the name and address of the manufacturer and the distributor, the packer if any, and the importer for imported food; the batch or code number; the date of manufacture; the country of origin for imports; and nutrition labelling in letters of at least 1 mm. Every other declaration is at least 1.5 mm high.

The expiry date goes in any two of the three languages; storage and use instructions in at least two; consumer warnings required by any regulation in all three, at least 1.5 mm. Bottles may carry the dates and batch stamped on the neck (at least 1.5 mm); cans carry them on the lid.

Dates

The expiry date is day-month-year, year-month-day, month-year or year-month. With a two-digit year, “DD/MM/YY” (or “YY/MM/DD”, “MM/YY”) is printed above or beside the digits; month and year alone means the last day of that month. It follows “Exp”, “Use by”, “Use before” or “Best Before” in English, together with “ක. ඉ. ද.” in Sinhala and the Tamil abbreviation that regulation 6(f)(vi) gives. The date of manufacture follows “MFD” or “Date of manufacture” the same way (6(g)). For tea, spices, edible oils, salt, cereals, legumes and oilseeds the date of packing counts as the date of manufacture. Nobody may deface the maker’s dates.

Sugar, salt and fat colour codes

The Food (Colour Coding for Sugar, Salt and Fat) Regulations 2019 cover solid and semi-solid food. Per 100 g: sugar over 22 g red, 5 g to 22 g amber, under 5 g green; salt over 1.25 g red, 0.25 g to 1.25 g amber, under 0.25 g green; fat over 17.5 g red, 3 g to 17.5 g amber, under 3 g green. Each logo is at least 2 cm high and 1 cm wide, with “Sugar”, “Salt” or “Fat” in Sinhala, Tamil and English in bold white at least 2 mm and the amount in a white box in bold black at least 1.5 mm. The logos sit close together on the main panel — on the dispenser pack if they would cover more than 25% of it. The colours are red R230, amber R255 G195 B9 and green G195 (RGB) or equivalent.

They do not apply to primary agricultural produce, spices and curry mixes sold separately, foods for special dietary use, food weighed in front of the buyer, bulk packs whose retail packs comply, infant formula or export-only packs. Drinks follow the sugar colour code for liquids: the 2016 regulations set more than 11 g per 100 ml red (high sugar), 2 g to 11 g amber, under 2 g green, in a circle at least 1 cm across; their 2022 successor (Gazette 2319/42), postponed more than once, changes the figures — take the current ones from the gazette.

Imported food

A pack labelled in one of the three languages carries a supplementary label in the other two, in bold, printed or firmly stuck on without hiding the maker’s dates or other declarations; its common name is at least half the height of the main panel’s and never under 3 mm. When the maker’s dates are only coded, the importer adds them. Packs of 25 g or 30 ml and under need not carry the full label if the dispenser pack they are sold from does.

Laying it out in Drint

1. Drint has no Sri Lanka label kit yet and does not check these rules. Lay the label on the back panel with Insert → Product label or text blocks.
2. Paste the client’s Sinhala, Tamil and English text as it is — Drint does not translate. Sinhala conjuncts and Tamil shape correctly and are outlined on export.
3. Draw the sugar, salt and fat logos as shapes and text at the gazette’s minimum sizes, in the colours above, on the main panel.
4. Insert → Nutrition table builds a per-100 g table you can edit when the client has lab values.
5. Check in Export still finds text near the cut, low-resolution pictures and ink problems.

Sources

Food (Labelling and Advertising) Regulations 2026, Gazette Extraordinary No. 2494/47 of 26 June 2026: the gazette (English), Ministry of Health. Food (Colour Coding for Sugar, Salt and Fat) Regulations 2019, Gazette Extraordinary No. 2119/3 of 17 April 2019: FAOLEX srl195988. Food (Colour Coding for Sugar levels) Regulations 2016, Gazette Extraordinary No. 1965/18 of 3 May 2016: Ministry of Health. Every gazette: documents.gov.lk.

Lay out the label in Drint

Questions

A summary written to design packs, not legal advice. Before printing, check the gazette in force, the client’s registration and any later amendment with your client or the Food Control Administration Unit.