By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet Minister yesterday pledged that the Government would not allow food unfit for consumption to enter the Bahamas, adding that products labelled ‘export only’ were done so purely for tax purposes only.

Speaking at a National Quality Infrastructure Forum, V Alfred Gray, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said it was a challenge for governments to monitor all the food products consumed in their respective countries.

“It’s always a challenge, but the Bahamas government is firm and resolute to ensure that all of the foods consumed in the Bahamas are of top quality. The establishment of the Standards Bureau will go a long way to ensuring that those things that we offer for sale or consumption will be of the highest quality,” said Mr Gray.

“The Bahamas government will not allow anything in our country that is not fit for human consumption to be sold to the Bahamian people.”

Mr Gray said products labelled ’export only’ were treated so for tax purposes, and were not reflective of the goods’ quality.

“In the United States there is a tax regime which requires those people who are producing for export to claim certain exemptions. If they claim those exemptions they would have to label the product ‘not for sale’ in the US, so it doesn’t end up on the shelves in the US, which would be subject to tax,” Mr Gray explained.

“That’s the only reason. That’s the only reason for such a label. I don’t think that is fair to the Bahamian people. It’s not fair to the Government of the Bahamas and the United States.

“We believe that the US standards which, comparatively speaking, is one of the best around the world, ought not to be subjected to such criticism that is unfounded. Most of what we do in the Bahamas and around the Caribbean are measured by the US standard. The USDA is the one agency of the US government that is international, and they basically set the standard for all other agencies to follow.”