The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The long-awaited changes to the government’s “breadbasket” food line-up will likely “coincide” with the upcoming 2019-2020 budget, the minister of health has confirmed.

Dr Duane Sands told Tribune Business that while the alterations had not been co-ordinated with the budget, the Minnis administration was determined to combine fiscal and medical policy in a bid to incentivise healthier eating impacts and improve The Bahamas’ health profile.

“There’s no co-ordination with the upcoming budget,” Dr Sands said. “It’s just that it will probably end up coinciding with it. That wasn’t the original plan but we’ve completed it, the final paper, and are just going through the motions now. We have nothing left to do. The new list is certainly more appealing than we originally thought, but that would require the concurrence of my cabinet colleagues.”

He declined to detail the foods that will be included in the new “breadbasket” list - the first changes since it was introduced 45 years ago as a means to ensure lower income Bahamians could access staple food products through a combination of tax breaks and price controls.

While the emphasis then was on affordability, many observers believe its composition has contributed to The Bahamas’ health crisis and prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and hypertension by encouraging unhealthy eating habits.

Dr Sands said he “didn’t want to go ahead and jump the gun” on the “breadbasket” reforms given that the addition, and/or removal, of items had yet to be approved yet had implications for the food retail and wholesale sector.

“Certainly there’s attractive offerings on the breadbasket after public consultation,” he added. “Bear in mind the breadbasket, once introduced 40 years ago, was never changed. This will be the first time.”

“The idea is to move from just food or a belly full to healthy foods; healthy foods with protein and no added fat. We have tried to consider the health implications, the health profiles of hypertension and diabetes, and the evidence that suggests certain unhealthy eating habits contribute to these challenges.

“Add that to fiscal policy and what we’d like to see is support from people trying to lead healthier lives and an improvement in the health profile. It’s a change from what the breadbasket was originally.”

Dr Sands added that besides incentivising Bahamians to eat more healthy foods, the changes were also designed to “remove the financial disincentive” that currently exists with the “breadbasket’s” composition.

The items originally proposed for removal from the breadbasket list were margarine, mayonnaise, corned beef, canned meats, canned soups, broths, condensed milk and sugar. Those likely to be included were 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 were eyed for 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.