Laws to specify salt, sugar content in food

Nadira Gunatilleke

* Do not add salt when cooking rice. Instead of salt, add other flavours such as Rampe, Cinnamon etc.

*Reduce the amount of salt added to curries adding other flavours such as lime, goraka etc.

* Limit consumption of salty food products such as precooked peanuts, sauces, biscuits etc.

Laws will be introduced within the next two weeks making it compulsory for traders to specify salt and sugar content in food products as a means of arresting the rapid increase in Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as cardio-vascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, Health Services Director General Dr Palitha Mahipala said.

Dr Mahipala said it will be carried out under the Food Act No 26 of 1980.

"All food manufacturers add salt and sugar to their products according to standards laid down by the Sri Lanka Standards (SLS) standards. However the Health Ministry will not hesitate to strengthen existing laws in the face of health risks to the public," he said. Meanwhile, WHO Country Representative for Sri Lanka Dr F R Mehta said a Sri Lankan consumes 12.5 grams of salt per day and it should be only five grams of salt per day according to WHO recommendations. Health Ministry Secretary Dr Nihal Jayatilleke said 82 percent of patients who are paralyzed suffered from High Blood Pressure and 49 percent of heart patients also suffered from HBP prior to their attacks.