The Belize Bureau of Standards (BBS) through an invitation from the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE) conducted a training on the requirements of the Revised National Standard for Labelling of Prepackaged Foods to Coconut producers.

Participants were introduced to the requirements of the National Standard for BZS 1: Part 3: 2025 (Revised) – Belize Standard: Specification for Labelling: Labelling of Prepackaged Foods, while getting an opportunity to conduct a self-assessment of their current labels.  

The BBS noted that proper packaging and labeling are critical aspects of food safety and quality assurance, and marketing especially for pre-packaged foods.

The Belize Bureau of Standards proposes to recommend to the Standards Advisory Council that the following draft standard – Belize 1: Part 3:2024 (Revised) Specification for Labelling Part 3: Labelling of Prepackaged Foods declared a compulsory Standard.

The standard for prepackaged foods has been revised to align with current labelling trends and in an effort to prevent fraud and deception arising from misleading labelling, as well as to provide adequate information to the consumer or user of prepackaged foods. Changes include language requirements to recognize product labels in Spanish; addition of nutritional facts declaration as a core requirement; and emphasis on allergen labelling. It is intended that all manufacturers, importers, distributors and other entities engaged in the production and or trade of pre-packaged foods in Belize shall comply with the requirements of this standard. Furthermore, it is expected that this standard will assist Belizean producers in meeting the labelling requirements of regional and extra-regional markets.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Regional Organization for Standards and Quality has published draft voluntary standard FCRS 5:202x, Labelling of Foods- Pre-packaged foods – Specification (Revision). This standard is a revision of the Caribbean Community Standard “Labe/ling of Foods – Prepackaged foods – Specíficatíon CRS 5: 2010”, which has been prepared and issued by the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) and approved by the xx Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). The standard was prepared as a guide to manufacturers and importers on the labelling considered necessary to provide adequate information to the consumer.
lt is intended to:
Supplementary nutrition information is intended to increase the consumer’s understanding of the nutritional value of the food and to assist in interpreting the nutrient declaratio n s rovided on other parts of the label. Front-of-package nutritional warning labels interpret nutritiona ·n ormation, add ease and speed to information access and improve the consumer’s ability to make critic and better-informed decision.