Label rules › Saudi Arabia & UAE
Saudi Arabia and UAE food label requirements
Food sold in the six Gulf states is labelled to one Gulf technical regulation, GSO 9 “Labeling of prepackaged food stuffs”, which Saudi Arabia enforces as SFDA.FD/GSO 9 and the UAE as UAE.S GSO 9. Dates follow GSO 150, the nutrition table GSO 2233; each country adds its own checks. Here is what goes on the pack, and how to lay it out.
Checked: 26 October 2026
Mandatory items
| On the label | Means |
|---|---|
| اسم المنتج | The name of the food, in Arabic, one that says what it truly is, in a prominent place |
| المكونات | Ingredients in descending order of weight; additives by name or E number with their class; the source of animal fats and gelatine |
| الوزن الصافي | Net contents in metric units (g, kg, ml, l) |
| بلد المنشأ | Country of origin — where the food last changed its nature, not merely where it was packed |
| اسم وعنوان المنتج | Name and address of the maker or packer (and of the importer or distributor) |
| تاريخ الإنتاج · تاريخ الانتهاء | Production and expiry dates, printed, stamped or embossed by the producer — never on a sticker, one set only |
| رقم التشغيلة | Lot or batch identification |
| طريقة الحفظ · طريقة الاستعمال | Storage conditions, and directions for use where the food needs them |
| الحقائق التغذوية | Nutrition table (GSO 2233): energy, fat with saturated and trans fat, cholesterol, carbohydrate with total sugars, fibre and protein, in metric units |
| يحتوي على… | Foods and ingredients known to cause hypersensitivity (allergens) |
| حلال | Meat and animal ingredients from animals slaughtered the halal way; a halal mark only with a certificate from an accredited body |
One Gulf rule: GSO 9
The GCC Standardization Organization’s GSO 9 lists what every prepackaged food carries: the name of the food, the ingredients in descending order of weight, the net contents, the name and address of the maker or packer, the country of origin, the lot, the production and expiry dates, storage conditions and directions for use where they are needed. Nutrition information follows GSO 2233; allergens are named.
The 2013 text (third edition) is the one most guides still quote; the GSO approved a fourth edition, GSO 9:2022, on 19 October 2022. Ask your importer which edition the destination checks against today, and buy the current text from the GSO store or the national standards body.
Arabic first
The SFDA puts it plainly: labelling and adjoining explanatory statements shall be in Arabic, and where another language is used it shall be alongside the Arabic, saying the same thing. A label in English only is refused. The UAE accepts Arabic alone or Arabic with English; Arabic is the text the inspector reads, and the other language counts as a translation.
Bad translation is one of the commonest reasons a label is sent back: claims printed in English only, or a nutrient given the wrong Arabic name (trans fat is الدهون المتحولة, not “unsaturated”). Have the Arabic read by a native food translator, then by your importer.
Production and expiry dates
GSO 150 sets the shelf life: part 1 is mandatory for a short list (fresh and chilled meat and poultry, fresh milk and its products, fresh juice, eggs, baby food…), part 2 lets the maker set a science-based date for the rest. Both dates are clear and uncoded: day-month-year when the shelf life is three months or less, month-year when it is longer (in the UAE, day-month-year is also allowed; month-year means the last day of that month).
Dates are printed, stamped in permanent ink, engraved or embossed on the pack or its original label by the producer. They never go on a sticker, the pack carries one production date and one expiry date only, and they may not be changed or scratched out. Foods with no expiry date, such as salt, spices and milled rice, show the production date.
Saudi Arabia: the SFDA
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority enforces SFDA.FD/GSO 9, SFDA.FD 2233 for nutrition labelling and SFDA.FD 2333 for health and nutrition claims, and has applied them strictly since July 2022. Arabic may be added in a supplementary sticker only as a single sticker designed and printed by the manufacturer — never with the dates on it. Plan an Arabic–English pack instead.
Meat and products with meat ingredients come with a halal certificate from a body accredited by the SFDA Halal Center. Pork and its derivatives are not allowed. Print a halal logo only when the certificate covers the product, using the certifier’s own file.
United Arab Emirates: MoIAT and the emirates
The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), which took over the standards role of ESMA, issues the UAE.S labelling texts. Before a food enters, the importer has it assessed — in ZAD, or in Dubai Municipality’s service — and every pack size and every label change is assessed again.
An Arabic sticker may translate the label if the authorities approve it during the assessment and it is applied before export. It may not hide required information, contradict the original label, carry the dates, or peel off easily. At least the name, ingredients, country of origin, and where they apply storage, directions and nutrition go on it.
Animal fats come from halal-slaughtered animals and the label names their source. Pork products are sold only in sections set apart for non-Muslims and say clearly that they contain pork; no other pack may show pork in a picture or a recipe. A halal mark needs a certifier approved in the UAE; the UAE national halal mark has its own scheme.
Setting the Arabic
Arabic reads right to left, its letters joined. Gulf packs mostly set Naskh or a clean Arabic sans for the text, Kufi or a Ruqaa hand for the brand, and Western digits (0–9) in weights and dates. Keep the Arabic and English panels apart, each reading its own way, the Arabic as prominent as the English or more. Give Arabic a little more line height than Latin for its dots and marks, and outline the text in the final file.
Laying it out in Drint
- In the studio, click Insert → Product label and choose the market Saudi Arabia · UAE and the goods group.
- Paste the client’s Arabic, and English beside it — Drint prints the Arabic headings (المكونات، تاريخ الإنتاج، تاريخ الانتهاء…), sets the Arabic right to left in joined letters, and does not translate.
- Choose printed on the pack; a sticker is checked against the Saudi and UAE rules and never carries the dates. Tick the frame for the halal certifier’s logo and drop the official file in — never redrawn.
- Fonts: the font list’s Arabic group — Cairo, Almarai or IBM Plex Sans Arabic for small text; Reem Kufi and Aref Ruqaa for a brand name.
- Insert → Nutrition table lays out a nutrition panel to start from; set the Arabic name beside each line and check the values against GSO 2233.
- If the factory prints or embosses the dates and lot itself, leave their area blank for its printer.
- Check in Export finds text too close to the cut or too small; export the CMYK PDF/X-4 with the die on its own layer.
Questions
Must a food label in Saudi Arabia or the UAE be in Arabic?
Yes. In Saudi Arabia the label is in Arabic, and any other language stands beside it, saying the same thing — English alone is refused. The UAE accepts Arabic or Arabic with English, and reads the Arabic as the label of record. Most brands print Arabic and English on the same pack.
Can I add the Arabic with a sticker?
Only with conditions. The SFDA allows one supplementary sticker designed and printed by the manufacturer; the UAE allows a sticker approved in the label assessment and applied before export. In both countries the production and expiry dates may never be on the sticker. Printing the Arabic on the pack avoids all of it.
How are the dates written?
Production and expiry, uncoded: day-month-year when the shelf life is three months or less, month-year when it is longer. They are printed, stamped, engraved or embossed by the producer, one set per pack, never on a sticker.
Do I need a halal logo?
Not on every food, but meat and animal ingredients must be halal, with a certificate from a body the destination accepts (the SFDA Halal Center’s accredited bodies in Saudi Arabia; an approved certifier in the UAE). If the pack shows a halal logo, it is the certifier’s own, and the certificate covers the product.
Does Drint write Arabic?
Yes. The studio itself is in Arabic, right to left, and any text on a pack can be Arabic: the letters join, the outlines and the print file match the screen, and the Arabic font group has Naskh, Kufi, Ruqaa and sans faces for Gulf packs.
A summary written to design packs, not legal advice. GSO, SFDA and UAE texts change, and each product may have its own standard; check the current edition and your label assessment with your importer, the SFDA or MoIAT before printing.