The Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has made registration and licensing mandatory for specified categories of food businesses and products from November 1 to protect public health and bring discipline to the food sector.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, the authority said the government published the Safe Food (Registration and Licence) Regulations, 2026 in a gazette on July 16. It has asked all concerned food traders and establishments to apply for the required registration and licences from November 1.

Under the Safe Food Act, 2013 and the new regulations, four categories of food businesses will require licences covering business operations, premises, manufactured and imported products, and the registration of licensed products. Separately, 16 specified categories of food businesses and establishments must obtain registration.

The rules cover a wide range of businesses, from roadside mobile and temporary food stalls and small restaurants to importers and large food-processing companies.

The regulations broadly divide food businesses into two groups. Registration alone will be sufficient for 16 conventional categories, while businesses dealing in specialised food products will be subject to licensing requirements.

Restaurants, bakeries, fruit juice and pastry shops, and catering services must register with the authority. The requirement also applies to packaged-food manufacturers, sweetmeat shops, dairy-product producers and importers of food other than raw and fresh products.

Roadside vendors selling homemade items such as pitha, puri and piaju will also come under the rules. Other businesses required to register include wholesale grocery shops, importers of raw and fresh food, food warehouses, cold-storage facilities, and edible oil and salt producers.

The regulations also cover the production, processing, storage, import, export and marketing of specialised food products, including fortified foods, health supplements, special dietary and medical foods, probiotic and prebiotic foods, organic and irradiated foods, genetically modified foods, novel and functional foods, multi-stage processed foods and food additives.

Mandatory licensing will apply to businesses involved in producing, processing, storing, importing and marketing specialised products, including health supplements, special dietary and medical foods, probiotic and prebiotic foods, and nutraceuticals and similar products. The requirements also cover foods such as infant formula and products designed for elderly people or those with specific medical conditions.

Licences will also be required for genetically modified or gene-edited foods, organic and irradiated foods, novel and functional foods, fortified foods, and products carrying health or disease-risk-reduction claims under the Safe Food (Advertisement and Claims) Regulations, 2025.

The BFSA warned that operating a food business without the required registration or licence is a punishable offence under the Safe Food Act, 2013. It urged traders and establishments to complete the necessary preparations before the deadline.

Both registration and licences will remain valid for three years and must then be renewed. First-time registration is free for the 16 conventional categories of food businesses.

Premises licence fees for specialised food manufacturers will depend on floor area, ranging from 10,000 taka for establishments measuring up to 100 square metres to 60,000 taka for new licences for facilities larger than 10,000 square metres.

Every food package must display the BFSA registration number so consumers can readily check whether a producer is registered and cite the number when filing complaints.

Applications can initially be submitted to the BFSA or its district offices. The authority has also begun taking steps to introduce a fully online application system gradually.

The BFSA expects the initiative to improve transparency and accountability in food-business registration and licensing, bring greater order to food production and marketing, and strengthen efforts to ensure food safety and protect public health.