The Bahamas has enacted basic laws for standards, and the Bureau of Standards and Quality (BBSQ) governs standards for goods and services, particularly metrology (weights and balances).  The BBSQ cooperates with other ministries on quality standards, such as sanitary and phytosanitary standards with the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources and the Bahamas Health and Food Safety Agency (BAHFSA).  This has not been a hindrance to trade with the United States and U.S. products are widely accepted. 

Standards: 

The BBSQ administers the Processed Foods, Weights, and Measures Acts, which affect all products entering The Bahamas.  Importers and distributors must ensure that goods sold in The Bahamas are properly labeled in English and comply with local labeling standards.   

Testing, inspection, and certification: 

There are limited labs in the country and currently no national testing organization.  These services are often contracted to U.S. agencies, and to a lesser extent from Caribbean and South American agencies. 

Meat products: 

The meat certification program requires that all meat animals (e.g., cows, pigs, sheep, and goats) are slaughtered at the government abattoir and are subject to compliance inspections and basic standards.  

Fisheries: 

Bahamian fisheries exporters are required to be certified in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and most fisheries exports are processed according to international standards, including new requirements for traceability. 

Accreditation/International standards: 

Generally, if a product satisfies the Caribbean Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) or has U.S. accreditation, it is accepted in The Bahamas as the BBSQ has limited capacity to test or accredit findings.  The government proposes that any future system to ensure competence of certification programs will be conducted in accordance with regional and/or international standards. 

Publication of technical regulations 

National Gazette:  Government information, including laws and official announcements, are published in the Official Gazette of The Bahamas. 

Secretary to the Cabinet  

Cabinet Office 

P.O. Box N-7147  

Nassau, The Bahamas  

Tel. (242) 322-2805-8 or 322-410 or 356-2710 

Contact Information: 

Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality (BBSQ) 

P.O. Box N- 4843 
The Source River Centre 
1000 Bacardi Road N.P. 
The Bahamas 
Tel: +1 (242) 362-1748 - 55 

Email: info@bbsq.com or tbtenquirypoint@bbsq.com  

Notify United States: 

Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify the WTO of proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade. 

Notify United States:

(https://tsapps.nist.gov/notifyus/data/index/index.cfm) is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes available for review and comment key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures.  Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by a selected country or countries and industry sector(s) of interest and can also request full texts of regulations.  This service and its associated website are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.