Farmers and other Bahamian food-related businesses are voicing fears they may be forced to increase prices due to the mandates of a new health and safety regulatory regime that is now being enforced.

Agriculture entrepreneurs and other food vendors, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, told Tribune Business that aspects of the supervisory framework unveiled on Friday by the Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA) appeared unduly onerous and bureaucratic, and could discourage young entrepreneurs from entering farming or home-based food businesses.

Those who attended the Authority’s webinars and Zoom calls on Friday, at which its online permitting and inspection processes were launched, said food-related businesses will now have to apply for annual registration with BAHFSA in addition to all the other multiple permits and tax payments they must obtain/make to the Government.

Disclosing that firms will be unable to obtain their Business Licence unless they are registered with the Authority, and have passed an annual inspection, attendees said farmers and other enterprises involved in numerous aspects of the food industry will now face the prospect of having to co-ordinate and undergo multiple annual inspections from 2026 onwards.

And they expressed particular concern that it appears every employee in a food store, wholesale distributor and restaurant who “comes into contact” with food products must obtain an annual health certificate even if they do not directly handle produce.

This was interpreted by some attendees spoken to by Tribune Business as meaning that delivery drivers, warehouse staff and forklift drivers must also obtain annual health certificates - a demand some branded as “not practical or reasonable”. The same sources also said they will now be required to document, and provide evidence, of pest control contracts and other efforts to maintain cleanliness at their premises.

Those who were on the webinars, or learned what was discussed, said it seemed as if the remaining 11 months of 2025 will be treated as “your period of leniency to get straight” before the regulatory regime is fully enforced in 2026.

“Thank God they’ve given us an entire year to wrap our heads around it and figure out how we’re going to put into play,” one food and agricultural source said. “I only found out about the webinar by accident. It was not well-publicised. There were around 20 people on the Zoom meeting when I think there should have been 150.”

As to the new regulatory regime’s wider consequences, they said any extra cost was almost certain to be passed on to Bahamian consumers via higher prices. “The consumer will have to pay for all this,” they added. “If I have to pay as a farmer or food vendor, we have to pass it to the consumer who will have to pay for it.

“We are bitching about the high cost of food and high cost of living, and say we’re going to make it much easier. It’s a malarkey. They say one thing and do the complete opposite.... I’m going to have to charge for it. If it’s going to cost me more money I have to put price up.”

Dr Patricia Johnson, the Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA) director, and head of its food safety and quality unit, told Tribune Business that consumer welfare and safety is the agency’s top priority while confirming it is “moving more to enforce the law than we’ve seen in previous years”.

Although first staffed back in 2018, the Authority is only now acting to fully enforce legislation that was passed by Parliament some nine years ago - the Food and Safety Quality Act, the Animal Health and Protection Act and the Plant Protection Act - all of which were enacted in 2016.

Confirming that registration via the Authority’s online portal was launched on Saturday, February 1, Dr Johnson said food-related businesses now have 11 months in which to complete the process otherwise those who are non-compliant will be unable to renew their Business Licence come 2026.

The BAHFSA chief, asserting that the Authority plans to adopt a non-adversarial approach, said its inspections and findings of any infractions were designed to help food-related entrepreneurs “improve their business and livelihoods” while ensuring that consumer welfare was paramount through vendors adhering to best food preparation and handling practices.

As for concerns regarding the need for all staff to obtain health certificates, Dr Johnson said this was nothing new as their issuance is already overseen by the Ministry of Health and Wellness and its rules. And she pointed out that this is also a requirement in the Food Safety and Quality Act.

Describing Friday’s webinars as “the first of many”, designed to launch the registration portal and train food providers in how to use it, she added that further sessions and Town Hall meetings are planned for both New Providence and the Family Islands with the latter targeted to start at “the beginning of March”.

And, noting that the Authority is merely moving to enforce laws already in statute, Dr Johnson said: “The Authority was staffed back in 2018. We did have staffing issues, but we are moving more to enforcing the Acts than seen in previous years. The laws have been in place.

“With the development of this e-inspection tool and e-permitting too, which came online last September, we’re moving towards a paperless system as much as possible. The inspection tool will allow us to inspect food businesses and assist them in improving their businesses and livelihoods.

“It’s more to help business owners. We want to ensure business owners are provided with the information that is needed for them to ensure their produce is safe.” The new regulatory regime is designed to apply to all industries and sectors involved in the handling and preparation of food, including restaurants, street vendors, grocery stores, wholesalers and even the likes of gas stations with their delis and convenience stores.

Dr Johnson said businesses will be able to access the Authority’s inspection reports online, and added: “It allows us to go into those businesses and provide them with infractions they may be having a challenge with, and give them a timeframe to correct those infractions so the quality of those services they provide to the public improves.

“They will have an opportunity to start registering [on Saturday, February 1] and the hope is to get 100 percent of those registered, or as many as possible, through the portal so that hopefully everyone is registered and this process goes smoothly. They have 11 months and it’s important to get the word out to food business operators so that everyone is able to get registered.

“It’s just to know who is providing food so we can properly ensure they are doing that and being properly registered with what is outlined in the Act. Our goal is to ensure we have a robust food control system in the country. This is one step in ensuring that, keeping in mind that the consumer is safe at every facet.”

With consumer protection paramount, the Authority on its Facebook page said its certification will inform customers that the food products supplied by a particular business are safe, thereby potentially boosting its sales as well as opening up export possibilities to foreign markets.

Dr Johnson said the three-strong legislative package, passed by Parliament some eight to nine years ago, was designed to bring The Bahamas into line with international best practices and this nation’s obligations, as well as comply with measures such as the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) sanitary and phytosanitary standards for plant and animal trade.

“We just want to make sure all food operators are following best practices to provide the consumer with the best quality food, and provide it in the safest and most sanitary conditions,” she told this newspaper. “The idea is to ensure we are not creating an industry where consumers get sick; where they are provided with safe food and not made to become ill because food is not prepared in a hygienic manner.

“The public is going to appreciate what we’re going to do. We’re looking forward to working with our food business operators.” However, this is unlikely to allay all concerns harboured by farmers and other food providers.

“What will be difficult for the farmers to get their heads around is how much more complicated annual processes are going to be,” one source said. “Apart from filing Business Licence and VAT returns, now you have to apply to be registered once a year with BAFSHA and that has to be annually renewed.

“If you can’t get an inspection done until January, I don’t think that stops you from getting your Business Licence but it’s a bit of a grey area and you have to be registered and pay for your one free inspection per year... The difficult area for farmers is, for example, if you’re selling plants, selling eggs, producing a food product as a consumable product, and selling food.

“That means you have to get four separate certificates of inspection to say that, in the case of animals, that the eggs are safe, you’re foot washing and hand washing, that your plants don’t have any pest issues, that the food facility is healthy and sanitised. They were asked about this and they said they were going to try and handle all the inspections at one time on the same date.”

Pointing out that any inspection deficiencies must be corrected before the Authority will issue the necessary certification, one contact argued it was simply “not practical” for all employees to be mandated to obtain health certificates - especially those not directly handling food.

“It’s totally unnecessary but they say this is the law and international standard,” they said of the Authority’s response. “In the deli, yes, but the person in the warehouse receiving a pallet of carnation and the person putting it on the shelf? In this industry that is not reasonable.

“If you are non-compliant with their regulations they can shut your business down and force you to close. This applies to street vendors as well. Street vendors will have a badge saying they are a BAFSHA approved street vendor.

“I think all this is going to cause a lot of people to have second thoughts about going into this business or starting a business. They’re encouraging entrepreneurs and home businesses but, then again, there are a lot of people, especially farmers, if you take the average age of a farmer, it’s 60 and over,” the source continued.

“They don’t have the computer savvy, tech savvy. They are out there digging potatoes, putting them in a box and taking them to the packing house. They’re making pennies on the dollar and now have to go through all this. It’s not going to happen.”

And, challenging whether the Authority has the manpower and resources to fulfill its mandate, the source questioned why a new agency had to be created as opposed to using existing ones such as the Department of Agriculture to meet these regulatory responsibilities.