# Nutrition labels for the UAE

> The UAE follows GCC (GSO) labelling standards with national oversight. Here is what food brands need on pack to sell in the Emirates.

Canonical: https://fcos.cloud/nutrition-labels/uae
Last updated: 2026-06-16
Market: United Arab Emirates
Regulation: GSO 9; GSO 2233
Label format in FCOS: Gulf & GCC

- Required panel structure
- Ingredient and allergen context
- Review before export
- PDF handoff for printers

## What this label needs before it goes on pack.

This guide is written for product, operations, QA, and regulatory teams who need the practical shape of a United Arab Emirates nutrition label.

### The UAE baseline

The UAE adopts **GSO standards** for prepackaged food — **GSO 9** for general labelling and **GSO 2233** for the nutrition declaration — under national oversight (MOIAT, with municipal food control such as Dubai Municipality for products in trade).

Your pack typically needs:

- **Arabic labelling** (Arabic-only or bilingual with Arabic prominent)
- **Nutrition declaration**: energy plus core nutrients such as protein, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, saturated fat, and sodium/salt
- **Allergen declaration**, production and expiry dates, storage conditions, net content, and origin

### Practical notes for exporters

Registration of products and labels with the relevant authority/municipality is part of market entry. Inconsistent ingredient or nutrition data between markets is one of the most common reasons labels bounce back — keeping one source of truth matters more here than anywhere.

### How FCOS helps

In FCOS, the UAE is covered under the **Gulf & GCC** market family: one product record, structured nutrition data, Arabic-capable label output, PDF export for your distributor or co-packer.

---

*This overview is general guidance, not legal advice. Final compliance always depends on your product and jurisdiction — confirm requirements with your regulatory counsel.*

## From product data to a reviewed United Arab Emirates label.

1. **Create the product record**: Enter ingredients, nutrition values, serving details, and the markets the SKU will sell in.
2. **Generate the market view**: FCOS uses the same product data to shape the label around the selected market format.
3. **Review, approve, export**: Keep reviewers in the loop, then export the approved label PDF for your team or partner.

## The difference between a label file and a label system.

- **The market changes, but the product record stays the same.** Add United Arab Emirates as a market target without copying values into another spreadsheet or rebuilding the SKU from scratch.
- **Review happens before the PDF leaves.** Editors prepare the label, reviewers approve the version, and the exported file reflects the version that passed review.
- **Retailer and co-packer handoff gets cleaner.** Share a shelf-ready PDF generated from structured product data instead of screenshots, emails, or disconnected drafts.

## Today vs. with FCOS

| Work | Today | With FCOS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Market data | Kept in docs, emails, or spreadsheets | United Arab Emirates sits on the product record |
| Review state | Hard to know which file is approved | Approval state stays with the label version |
| Export | Screenshots and manually assembled PDFs | PDF export comes from structured data |
| Multi-market work | Copy data into each format | Reuse one product record across markets |

## Frequently asked questions

### Does the UAE require Arabic on food labels?

Yes. Arabic is required — Arabic-only or bilingual with Arabic given prominence — consistent with GSO 9 as adopted in the UAE.

### What nutrition information is required in the UAE?

A nutrition declaration aligned to GSO 2233: energy and core nutrients such as protein, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, saturated fat, and sodium/salt.

### Can FCOS produce a UAE-ready label?

FCOS generates Gulf & GCC label outputs with Arabic support, which covers UAE formatting needs; final regulatory sign-off stays with your compliance reviewer.

## Related

- [Nutrition labels for Saudi Arabia (SFDA)](https://fcos.cloud/nutrition-labels/saudi-arabia) (Saudi Arabia)
- [US Nutrition Facts labels (FDA)](https://fcos.cloud/nutrition-labels/usa) (United States)
- [EU nutrition declarations (Regulation 1169/2011)](https://fcos.cloud/nutrition-labels/europe) (Europe (EU))
- [Nutrition labels by market](https://fcos.cloud/nutrition-labels)
- [Free label builder](https://fcos.cloud/free-experience)