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By Nuzla Rizkiya
The confectionery industry expressed skepticism over the new ban prohibiting the promotion of food products to children under 12, which they claim creates an unfair playing field as the rules only affect food manufacturers while exempting many other industries that directly impact children’s health.
Last week, Mirror Business reported on the industry’s struggle to comply with a new set of rules introduced by the Ministry of Health for labelling and advertising packaged food in the country.
The regulations announced by the government through a 29-page gazette dated February 14, 2023 were initially set to come into effect on January 1, 2024 and were then postponed by a year to January 1, 2025.
This week, the government further postponed the enactment of the rules until July 1, 2025, to provide businesses more time to adjust and comply with the new requirements.
However, industry stakeholders said the extension offers little relief for local manufacturers, especially small and medium-scale businesses who continue to struggle with significant practical and financial challenges when adjusting to the new criteria.
Speaking to Mirror Business, a senior representative of the confectionery industry who wished to remain anonymous shared that the organized sector of the confectionery industry which usually takes part in consultations and lobbying for amendments make up only about 40 percent of local manufacturers.
Therefore, he pointed out that these amendments are often made without considering the concerns of small and medium-sized manufacturers who actually make up a significant portion of the local industry.
“In Sri Lanka, there is only one manufacturer that makes labelling cylinders. A single four-colour labelling cylinder will cost about Rs. 1 million. Starting next month all companies, even small-scale papadam makers will have to redo their labels,” the source stated.
“Even the new ban on advertising is only applied to one sector while other industries like baby care products, creams and lotions, which also directly impact health are not included. Imported products and foreign advertisements on satellite TV channels are also exempted. If the government’s intention is not to harm children, it is unfair to target one industry while exempting others,” he added.
The source referred to clause number 18 of section 13 mentioned in the gazette which states that promoting food to children under twelve through advertisement leaflets, free samples, toys, or using cartoon characters and celebrities is prohibited unless approved by the Chief Food Authority.
This in addition to the financial and practical complications faced by food manufacturing companies when complying with the detailed nutritional labelling requirements due to the fact that Sri Lanka severely lacks facilities for testing and creating nutritional panels.
These processes are usually carried out only by large-scale manufacturers who can afford to conduct the testing in countries such as India, Singapore, Malaysia or China, according to the source.
Considering these factors, he shared that industry stakeholders who had been lobbying with the authorities since June 2023 had actually managed to secure agreements to amend 60 percent of the clauses outlined in the new rules.
However, even though the amendments were also being sent to the legal draftsman, the government has still refrained from publishing an official gazette with the changes, leaving the entire industry in limbo.
“To amend those regulations the authorities took almost 7-8 months. But many of the small and medium manufacturers don’t even know about it. They have to understand that many cottage industries, businesses and households rely on this sector as a livelihood. We are not against these regulations but we are saying that these should be done with a more comprehensive approach,” the source said.
