Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer 

October 10, 2023 – A healthier non-communicable disease free region will become more of reality with the full adoption of the Octagonal Warning Labels on food.

This is a system that directly informs consumers about what they are putting into their bodies.

For instance, if something is high in sugar or sodium or fat, or all three, it would be placed on the product within an octagon and can carry a sort of official signing from professional institutions and organizations such  as “The Ministry of Health” or the World Health Organisation,” given a hypothetical context.

Doing this will not only keep consumers in the know about their intake, it will emphasize the region’s “collective pursuit to advocate for transparency, accountability and consumer empowerment in the food industry” across integrated nations, as pointed out by Dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) as he addressed the happenings of Food Labels in CARICOM.

The director general expressed that the use of these kinds of labels is a critical initiative that must be implemented as they are front line tools in combating unhealthy foods.

He continued to highlight the changes octagonal food labeling will facilitate and in so doing, maintained that a unified adaption of the system, will create a platform for harmonization among member countries, simplify trade processes and reduce barriers “by establishing a common language in food health and safety standards.”

He added this will result in the foods that cross our borders complying with a strict and health focused collected standard protecting and promoting the welfare  or the region’s population.

This view expressed by the director is set against the backdrop of frequented non communicable disease due to common bad health habits.

 In fact, the Caribbean Public Health Agency informed that these diseases are the leading causes of death in the non-Latin Caribbean, sat ding at 76.8 percent in total in 2016; cardiovascular 30.8 percent, cancer, 17.2 percent and diabetes 10.8 percent.