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Health experts and media leaders have called for the swift finalisation and implementation of Front-of-Package Labelling (FOPL) regulations in Bangladesh, saying clear warning labels on packaged foods are essential to help consumers make healthier choices and tackle the country’s growing burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases.
The call came at a two-day workshop titled “Front-of-Package Labelling (FOPL) in Bangladesh: Importance, Progress and Way Forward,” held on August 24-25 at the BIP Conference Room in Dhaka.
Organised by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the workshop brought together 26 journalists from print, television and online media to discuss the proposed labelling system and its potential role in preventing non-communicable diseases.
Speakers said the rapid expansion of ultra-processed packaged foods, particularly products high in salt, sugar and unhealthy fats, is becoming an increasingly serious public health concern. Children, adolescents and young adults are also consuming such products in growing quantities, raising concerns about the long-term health consequences.
Non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and hypertension, account for about 71 percent of all deaths in Bangladesh, according to figures cited at the workshop. Poor diets, including excessive consumption of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats, are among the major modifiable risk factors.
Against this backdrop, experts said FOPL could provide consumers with a simple and easily recognisable indication of potentially harmful levels of nutrients at the point of purchase.
Unlike conventional nutrition panels, which often require consumers to interpret figures printed in small type on the back or side of packages, front-of-package warnings are designed to communicate key health information quickly and prominently.
Speakers said this is particularly important in a market where consumers may have limited time, nutritional knowledge or ability to interpret complex information while shopping.
Professor Mohammad Shoeb, a member of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), said the draft FOPL regulation is currently with the Ministry of Food.
He expressed hope that the regulatory process would be completed and the draft finalised soon.
The proposed regulation is expected to establish a standardised system for communicating excessive levels of nutrients of public health concern in packaged foods. Such a system, health advocates argue, would make it easier for consumers to distinguish between healthier and less healthy products.
Abu Ahmed Shamim, associate scientist at the BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health, described FOPL as a science-based public health intervention aimed at helping consumers understand the potential health risks of ultra-processed foods.
He said a simple and prominent label could allow consumers to make informed decisions without having to decode complicated nutritional information.
Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh country lead of GHAI, said the swift adoption and effective implementation of FOPL was important for Bangladesh’s efforts to reduce premature deaths from NCDs.
He linked the initiative to the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing premature mortality from NCDs by one-third through prevention and treatment.
The growing consumption of ultra-processed foods has emerged as a major concern globally as countries grapple with rising rates of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other diet-related conditions.
Health experts say Bangladesh is facing a similar transition, with changing lifestyles, urbanisation, aggressive marketing of processed foods and the increasing availability of packaged snacks and sugary drinks influencing dietary habits.
Speakers at the workshop stressed that providing nutrition information is not enough if consumers cannot understand or use it effectively.
Traditional nutrition labels generally contain detailed information about calories, fat, carbohydrates, sugar, sodium and other nutrients. While useful, they can be difficult for ordinary consumers to interpret, particularly when serving sizes and percentages are involved.
FOPL seeks to address that communication gap by placing simplified information on the front of a package, allowing consumers to identify products containing excessive amounts of nutrients associated with diet-related diseases.
Advocates say such labels can also encourage food manufacturers to reformulate products by reducing salt, sugar and unhealthy fats to avoid receiving warning labels.
This could create a wider public health impact beyond individual consumer choices, they said.
At the workshop, participants also discussed the importance of ensuring that the regulatory framework is evidence-based, transparent and effectively enforced.
Experts stressed that labelling should be part of a broader NCD prevention strategy involving healthier food environments, public awareness, school-based nutrition education and stronger regulation of food marketing, particularly marketing directed at children.
Zahirul Alam, executive director of Channel 24, said continued media coverage, discussion and analysis of FOPL could help build public understanding and contribute to the finalisation of the proposed regulation.
He said journalists could play an important role in explaining the issue in accessible language and bringing greater public attention to the health risks associated with excessive consumption of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats.
Mizan Chowdhury, co-convener of the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA), and ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA, also spoke at the workshop.
Presentations were delivered by PROGGA Head of Programs Md Hasan Shahriar and Programme Officer Shabnam Mostofa, covering the importance of FOPL, the current regulatory situation and the way forward.
The workshop ended with renewed calls for Bangladesh to move quickly from drafting to implementation.
With NCDs already responsible for the vast majority of deaths in the country, health experts said food policy can no longer be treated simply as a matter of consumer preference.
They argued that clear and credible information on food packages, combined with stronger regulation and public awareness, could help Bangladesh address the dietary risks driving a growing share of its disease burden.
For millions of consumers, the first line of defence against unhealthy food may ultimately be the information they see before opening the packet.