Sri Lanka’s CAA Rejects False Dairy Price-Rise Posts

The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) in Sri Lanka said on August 30 that a social-media post presented as “BREAKING NEWS” contained false information about higher dairy prices. The notice had circulated widely and referred to several products sold to consumers.

The products named in the post were milk powder, cultured milk drinks and yoghurt. The CAA said the information about price increases was not true and asked the public not to accept such messages without checking them against official or otherwise reliable sources.

According to the disputed post, the price of a one-kilogram packet of milk powder had allegedly gone up by Rs. 260. It also claimed that the price of a bottle of cultured milk drink had risen by Rs. 40 and that a cup of yoghurt had become Rs. 20 more expensive.

The authority did not endorse any of those figures. Instead, it described the price-rise information in the widely circulated message as false. Its statement addressed the claims as reports being shared online rather than as confirmed changes to the prices of the products listed.

The CAA called on social-media users to be careful when forwarding information. It asked people to verify claims before sharing them, particularly when the messages concern prices or other consumer-market information.

The authority also asked consumers to notify it about suspicious price changes and other irregularities in the market. Its appeal covered both possible changes in the prices of goods and broader concerns about market practices. The statement did not announce new prices for the dairy products mentioned in the post.