Speakers at a seminar on Tuesday called formandatory warning-based Front-of-Package Labelling (FOPL) on packaged foods to help reduce the growing burden of non-communicable diseases including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and cancer in Bangladesh.
Speakers made this call at a two-day journalists’ workshop organized by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), held on 18-19 May at the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) Bhaban in the capital.
A total of 27 journalists from print, television, and online media participated in the workshop titled “Front-of-Package Labelling in Bangladesh: Importance, Progress and the Way Forward.”
The workshop highlighted that ultra-processed packaged foods and beverages are among the key drivers of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In Bangladesh, nearly 570,000 people die from NCDs every year, accounting for about 71 percent of all deaths, while 19 percent of these occur prematurely. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), unhealthy diets are one of the major preventable causes of such widespread mortality.
Speakers noted that although packaged foods are often perceived as safe or healthy, the reality is quite different. In 2025, a nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted among 974 adults, adolescents, and children to identify commonly consumed processed and ultra-processed foods.
The survey found that nearly 97 percent of respondents consumed packaged foods at least once a week. The study also analyzed 105 processed and ultra-processed food products under 14 food categories defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and found that 63% of these products contained high levels of salt.
Another study conducted in 2023 examined nine categories of processed packaged foods from 24 brands available in the country and found that most of these products contained levels of sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats exceeding the daily limits recommended by the WHO. In many cases, complete information on saturated fat, trans fat, sugar and salt was either unclear or missing from product labels.
Front-of-Package Labelling (FOPL) is recommended as an effective and ‘Best-buy’ public health intervention by WHO. Worldwide, 44 countries have introduced FOPL, of which 10 have made warning-based FOPL mandatory so far. Evidence in these countries suggests that FOPL
implementation has increased consumer awareness and also encouraged manufacturers to reformulate their products.
Professor Dr. Mohammad Shoeb, Member of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), said, “Work is underway to introduce Front-of-Pack Labelling in order to raise consumer awareness about ultra-processed foods. Once implemented, it will reduce the risk of non-communicable
diseases in the country.”
Abu Ahmed Shamim, Associate Scientist at the Center for Non-Communicable Disease and Nutrition of BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH), said, “FOPL helps consumers quickly identify excessive salt, sugar and harmful fats in ultra-processed foods and enables them to make healthier food choices.”
Samina Israt, Programme Officer (Diet-Related Risk Factors) at the World Health Organization, said, “In Bangladesh, the introduction of Front-of-Pack Labelling (FOPL) is a WHO recommended cost-effective public health intervention to address the rising burden of diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) that promotes healthier dietary behaviours across all population groups.”
Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead of GHAI, said, “If Front-of-Package Labelling is implemented in Bangladesh, the growing burden of non-communicable diseases will be reduced.”
ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA was also present as discussant while PROGGA’s Program Officer, Shabnam Mostofa delivered a presentation in the workshop.