The Belize Bureau of Standards (BBS) is mandated to establish and monitor standard requirements for labeling, packaging, metrology, and consumer protection. All locally manufactured goods and imported goods must adhere to several minimum standards to be legally traded and sold on the Belizean market. 

There are three technical regulations concerning the labeling of food: general principles, pre-packaged foods, and brewery products, all of which have been developed through CARICOM’s standards process. Labeling requirements on all processed food products must be in English and details must include product name, description, manufacturer’s name and address, country of origin, storage instructions, net weight/volume, quantity, list of contents, nutritional information, date of production, expiration date, and identification lot. Pre-packaged processed food products labeled in English in accordance with the laws or standards in force in Canada, CARICOM, the European Union, and the United States are deemed to comply with Belizean labeling standards. Other technical regulations related to labeling are provided for in product specific legislation including labeling requirements for some dairy products, as well as certain alcohol and tobacco products.   The Ministry of Health regulates labeling of cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.

The BBS identifies legislation and documents describing the nature of information and specifications required for products to be labeled, packaged, and sold legally in the marketplace.  Importers are required to submit labels for their products that would be assessed against the standards. Where possible, conformity checks are carried out after imports have cleared customs and directly at local distribution or consumer stores. 

In 2023, government continued discussions with local stakeholders to implement the Caribbean’s proposal for front of nutritional packaging labelling (FoNPL). The proposed system would require food products to have octagonal warning labels to identify high fat, sugar, calories, and sodium content.  The measure aims to stem the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and obesity in the Caribbean.  While Belize’s private sector supports efforts towards reducing NCDs, it notes that FoNPL should be voluntary not mandatory as major import markets, primarily the United States and the Europe adhere to different nutritional labelling standards. Relatedly, the implementation of a mandatory FoNPL system will result in added packaging costs with no clear guidelines on who will bear the burden of these costs.  

Further information about the Belize Bureau of Standards, labelling and marking requirements are available at https://bbs.gov.bz/.