Nicque Graham | World Food Safety Day 2026 - From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere

Jamaica’s food safety system has notable strengths, especially at the community level. However, as global food trade expands and international standards become more demanding, the country must renew discussions on whether its current multi-agency approach to national food control is sufficient, or if a more coherent national framework is needed to improve food safety and strengthen export readiness.

Former Director of Veterinary Public Health, Dr Linette Peters, noted that food safety responsibilities are spread across several ministries and agencies operating under more than 20 pieces of legislation. While this is not inherently problematic, a multi-agency system can weaken coherence, accountability, efficiency, and operability. In response, Jamaica has commendably established coordination bodies, including the National Agricultural Health and Food Safety Coordinating Committee, the Inter-Ministerial Food Safety Committee, and the National Food Safety Council. These structures aim to improve cross-sector collaboration; however, enforcement remains dispersed among individual ministries and agencies.

A key advantage of a multi-agency system is that it preserves sector-specific expertise. Agricultural agencies understand plant health, crop production, and farm-level risks. Health authorities focus on food-borne illnesses, hygiene, and public health protection. Standards bodies, such as the Bureau of Standards Jamaica, bring technical knowledge on labelling, quality, and processing. The challenge, therefore, is not a lack of expertise, but that this expertise is spread across multiple institutions without a single, strong legal framework to unify it.

National food control systems (NFCS) cannot be effectively managed solely at the point of inspection. Risks arise at every stage — from agricultural inputs and primary production to processing, distribution, retail, catering, and preparation. Therefore, an effective national food control system must do more than inspect finished products. It must clearly define what constitutes ‘safe food’; explain how contamination is prevented, detected, and traced; establish rules that apply consistently across the entire food chain; and require documentation at each stage.

For food business operators, a single regulatory framework would offer greater coherence and predictability. It would reduce overlapping requirements and send a clearer message to importers and trading partners that Jamaica operates a science-based, transparent, and internationally credible system. Instead of relying on fragmented controls, the country could redesign its food laws around Codex principles and create an overarching intersectoral framework covering hygiene, HACCP application, microbiological criteria, maximum residue limits, labelling, traceability, and official controls. Additionally, the NFCS must prioritise support for laboratory monitoring, information systems, data collection, surveillance, and training and education to provide a holistic view of food safety.

Critics may argue that centralisation, particularly in the initial stages, can be expensive and administratively onerous — and they would not be wrong. However, the real issue is not whether reform is possible in principle, but how Jamaica can realistically phase it in. Countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Ireland demonstrate that centralised systems can work, but their success lies in strong legal frameworks and robust administration. This should not be viewed as a silver bullet, as changes of this scale must always be contextualised. Therefore, the first step for Jamaica should be to prioritise legal reform rather than pursue an abrupt organisational overhaul.

A phased approach would allow for legislative evolution while preserving sectoral responsibilities within a single coherent national food law. Over time, this could support stronger coordination, clearer accountability, better enforcement, and improved export readiness. These developments can then inform the scope for further centralisation. Food safety reform should not be seen solely as a technical exercise; it is a public health and trade strategy that can strengthen food security, improve nutrition, and reposition Jamaican value chains for global markets.

Nicque Graham, MSc, applied food safety and quality management, University of Greenwich, is a Chevening Scholar.