Soap labels must show product name, fat content

Colombo, July 20 (Daily Mirror) - The government has issued an Extraordinary Gazette making it mandatory for soap manufacturers and importers to display specific information on the packaging of soap products sold in Sri Lanka.

The order, issued under Section 10(1)(a) of the Consumer Affairs Authority Act, No. 9 of 2003, requires soap products to clearly display the product name and the total fat content as a percentage.

The new regulations were introduced following concerns that some soap products available in the local market do not provide adequate information on their packaging, including details of ingredients and fat content. While many well-established brands already comply with such labelling practices, authorities noted that several locally manufactured and imported products lack the required information.

Under the new rules, the product name must be printed prominently in bold letters on the main display panel in Sinhala, Tamil and English, or in any two of these languages, with the remaining language displayed elsewhere on the packaging.

In addition, the total fat content at the time of packaging must be clearly printed as a percentage (%) in bold letters with a minimum font size of 2 millimetres.

The regulations apply to baby soap, body soap, shaving soap, carbolic soap, laundry soap, bathing bars and soft soap.

The Extraordinary Gazette states that the new labelling requirements, recommended by Acting Consumer Affairs Authority Chairman S.M.D. Suriyakumara, will come into effect on July 9, 2027.