By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
A Cabinet minister yesterday said the promised revision to the country's 45 year-old breadbasket goods line-up will likely occur in January 2019.
Dr Duane Sands, pictured, minister of health, told Tribune Business that a public consultation tour over the proposed reforms is well underway. "We have now done multiple places in New Providence; we have done Abaco, Exuma, and now we will do a few more with the anticipation that we will change the breadbasket list probably in January," he added.
"The discussions have been all very positive other than we need to have more fruits and more vegetables. Notwithstanding the fact that it has been 45 years since the breadbasket list has been changed, people are passionate about the discussion of nutrition and health. The issue is what can we put on price control or on the breadbasket list."
The items likely to be removed from the breadbasket list are margarine, mayonnaise, corned beef, canned meats, canned soups, broths, condensed milk and sugar. Those likely to be included are beans and peas, raw almonds, raw cashews, fresh oranges, fresh apples, root crops and oatmeal, as well as tuna, sardine and mackerel canned in water.
Some of the items that will remain on the list will be subject to greater specification, allowing affordable purchases of only certain kinds of staple products. These will likely include no fat, low fat and two per cent fat evaporated milk options, as well as organic and non-organic fresh eggs. The list will likely include trans fat free, low fat, olive oil; unsalted and vegan butters; and one percent, two percent soy and almond fresh milk.
"We are duty bound to listen to the opinions of the public, and if are going to do that we believe that there could possibly be some changes, otherwise there is no point in the exercise," said Dr Sands.
"At this point I don't think there has been any tremendous change in what we proposed. Many of the changes were pretty far reaching when you talk about healthier oils, healthier rice, healthier flour, fruit and vegetables, as well as taking some unhealthy things off the breadbasket list."
Dr Sands added that the breadbasket list revision is a part of a wider effort to tackle this nation's health crisis, with National Health Insurance (NHI) another key element.
"Ultimately everything is connected," he said. "If you're trying to move to a healthier Bahamas you have to have effective health maintenance strategies and preventive strategies. We cannot pay our way out of this mess and we are in a mess. The best medicine you can take is the healthy food you can put in your body."
Comments
DDK 5 years, 6 months ago
Canned soups, broths??? Give us a break. Not all are high in sodium. Hope they put caviar and truffles on the healthy list! Comrade, they are after the corned beef again!
birdiestrachan 5 years, 6 months ago
Doctor Sands and many of his colleges are obese. this includes roc wit doc and Turnquest
I suppose they say do what they say and not what they do..
ohdrap4 5 years, 6 months ago
can someone explain to me what fresh soy and almond milk is? both products are highly processed and adulterated.
Soy milk is a hormone disruptor and likely linked to diabetes incidence.
Almond milk can only be drunk with added sugars. Try getting 4 almonds and put it in a blender with two cups of water, try to drink it, it is disgustiing.
they are viifying fat however, it is carbohydrates that are associated with high cholesterol and diabetes.
They are using 30 year old science to make the list, and nutritionists are the most ignorant set of professionals.
John 5 years, 6 months ago
"The items likely to be removed from the breadbasket list are margarine, mayonnaise, corned beef, canned meats, canned soups, broths, condensed milk and sugar. Those likely to be included are beans and peas, raw almonds, raw cashews, fresh oranges, fresh apples, root crops and oatmeal, as well as tuna, sardine and mackerel canned in water."
Breadbasket items do not all have to be healthy, but should be affordable, available and something that the majority will consume when nothing else is available. One may not eat corned beef everyday, but after a hurricane and the power was off for three days it would taste like caviar. And even when someone cannot afford fresh meat, steamed corned beef can t least satisfy the pallet. The worst thing this inexperienced government can do is remove everything an average Bahamian uses on a regular basis for items that only a select few, who can afford those items VAT included. So you actually stealing away the benefits of the average Bahamians to bread basket items. And any half sensible diet specialist will tell you that persons do not change their diets and eating habits overnight. And to do so can be more harmful than to continue eating 'unhealthy foods.' . "two percent soy and almond fresh milk" . And there are "professionals' out there advising persons NOT to drink SOY MILK or use any SOY products as it can lead to instant and permanent sterility in young males. And as you may know soybeans are a filler in most of the fast food burgers. . ."“When women consume whole milk products, they are more fertile and more likely to conceive and less likely to have what's called ovulatory infertility, the most common cause of infertility, than when they do non- or low-fat,” says Dr. Maizes.May 22, 2013
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