Registration mandatory for food businesses from Nov 1

Food businesses across the country will be required to obtain registration or licences from November 1 under new regulations introduced by the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), in a move aimed at protecting public health, ensuring food safety and bringing greater discipline to the sector.

The Safe Food (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 2026 were published in the government gazette on July 16. The BFSA has urged all relevant food businesses and establishments to apply for the necessary registration or licences ahead of the implementation date.

Under the Safe Food Act, 2013, and the new regulations, four categories of food businesses will be subject to mandatory licensing, covering business licences, premises licences, licences for manufactured and imported products, and registration of licensed products. Registration will also be required for 16 specified categories of food businesses and establishments.

The rules will apply to a wide range of operators, from roadside mobile and temporary food stalls and small restaurants to importers and large-scale food processing companies.
Restaurants, Street Food Vendors and Food Producers Covered

According to the regulations, businesses in 16 conventional food categories will generally require registration, while operators dealing in specified specialised food products will need licences.

Businesses required to register include restaurants, bakeries, fruit juice shops, pastry shops and catering services. Manufacturers of packaged food, sweet shops, dairy product producers and importers of food products—excluding raw and fresh food—will also fall under the registration requirements.

Even roadside vendors selling traditional snacks such as pitha, puri and piaju will be covered by the new rules.

Other businesses subject to registration include wholesale grocery operators, importers of raw and fresh food, food warehouses and cold-storage facilities, edible oil and salt producers, and businesses involved in the production, processing, storage, import, export and marketing of specified food products.

These include fortified foods, organic foods, irradiated foods, genetically modified foods, novel foods, functional foods, multi-stage processed foods and food additives, among other categories.
Specialised Food Products to Require Licences

The regulations introduce mandatory licensing for four categories of specialised food businesses, including those dealing with health supplements, dietary foods and foods for special medical purposes, probiotics and prebiotics, and nutraceuticals and similar products.

The requirements cover the production, processing, storage, import and marketing of these products. Specialised foods such as infant formula and products intended for older people or individuals with particular medical conditions may also fall under the relevant provisions.

Additional licensing or registration requirements will apply to genetically modified foods, organic foods, irradiated foods, novel and functional foods, fortified products, and foods carrying health-related or disease-risk-reduction claims under the Safe Food (Advertisement and Claims) Regulations, 2025.
Registration Fees and Application Process

The BFSA said applicants must pay the applicable fees specified in Schedule 10 of the 2026 regulations and meet the relevant conditions.

Applications for mandatory licences must be submitted using Forms 6.1, 7.1, 8.1 and 9.1, as applicable, while registration applications must be filed using Form 5.1.

The regulations set the validity period for registration and licences at three years, after which they must be renewed.

First-time registration will be free for businesses in the 16 conventional food categories. However, premises licence fees for specialised food producers will depend on the size of their facilities.

According to the published provisions, the premises licence fee will be Tk 10,000 for facilities measuring up to 100 square metres and Tk 60,000 for facilities larger than 10,000 square metres.
Operating Without Registration May Lead to Penalties

The BFSA warned that operating a food business without the required registration or licence will constitute a punishable offence under the relevant provisions of the Safe Food Act, 2013.

The authority has urged all affected businesses and establishments to complete the necessary preparations and secure the appropriate approvals from November 1.

The new framework is intended to strengthen oversight of Bangladesh’s food sector and improve accountability across the food supply chain, from small vendors to specialised food manufacturers and importers.