Minister Senaratne was speaking at the ‘Friends of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases’ held at the UN headquarters in New York recently. Minister Senaratne said he believes increasing the sugar tax should be included in the NCD agenda.

One problem we all face in the fight against trans-fats is the technical snags in correctly and accurately identifying levels of trans-fats in foods. On the other hand, although the informal food industry uses higher levels of trans-fats in their products than the established food manufacturers, we have found regulating the sector a daunting task, the Minister said.