The Panel Is on a Different Basis
- Values here are stated per 100g or 100ml
- Percentages run against a 2,000 calorie reference
- A per-serving-only panel does not satisfy it
Nutrition Label Services in Dubai
Most brands arrive expecting a translation job. The nutrition panel has to be rebuilt on a different basis, the Arabic has to be constructed to a standard rather than rendered, and claims that were legal at home may not be allowed here. Only one of those three is translation.
Excellent
We review labels and report what must change
Panel values shown per 100g or 100ml
Percentages against a 2,000 calorie reference
Arabic built to standard terminology
Claims checked before they reach a reviewer
Excellent
The Service
What Does a Nutrition Label Review Cover?
We read your label against the UAE requirements and report what has to change before it goes anywhere near a submission. The deliverable is a marked-up assessment, not finished artwork.
Two standards do most of the work. General labelling of pre-packaged food sits under GSO 9, and nutritional labelling under GSO 2233. Both are Gulf standards adopted nationally as UAE versions.
Your designer or printer makes the changes. We tell them precisely what those changes are, which is usually faster and cheaper than discovering them at a label assessment.
The Panel
What Must the Nutrition Panel Declare?
A defined set of nutrients, on a defined basis. Values are expressed per 100g or per 100ml, and a per-serving column may be shown alongside rather than instead.
Energy, Twice
Declared in both kilocalories and kilojoules. Labels carrying only one of the two are a routine correction.
Protein and Total Fat
Both declared, with saturated fat shown separately rather than folded into the total figure.
Carbohydrate and Sugars
Total carbohydrate, with sugars declared separately. How carbohydrate is calculated can differ from your home market.
Dietary Fibre
Declared in the panel. Where your existing label omits it, a laboratory figure is usually the shortest route.
Sodium
Declared as sodium. Labels expressing salt instead need converting, which is arithmetic rather than testing.
Vitamins and Minerals
Where present in significant amounts, and expressed against reference intake values rather than as raw figures.
Claims
Which Claims Can You Make on a Label?
Only those the standards permit, and the two kinds are treated differently. A nutrition claim says something about content, such as a product being a source of fibre. A health claim connects a nutrient to a health effect, and it is held to a higher bar.
Both sit under the Gulf claims standard and the Codex general guidelines behind it. The practical test is whether the claim is on the permitted list and whether your composition actually supports it once the panel is calculated.
Foods for infants and young children are the strict case. Nutrition and health claims are not permitted on them unless a corresponding Codex standard specifically provides for the claim being made.
Two Kinds
Nutrition Claims and Health Claims
| Factor | Nutrition claim | Health claim |
|---|---|---|
| Says what | What is in the product | What it does for you |
| Example type | Source of fibre | Supports a function |
| Tested against | The declared panel | Permitted claim lists |
| Evidence | Composition data | Higher bar |
| Infant foods | Restricted | Restricted |
| Common failure | Panel does not support it | Claim not permitted |
Why Labels Fail
Why Does a Translated Label Get Rejected?
Four reasons, and only the second is about language. A label can be translated perfectly and still be wrong on every other count.
The Arabic Is Not Built to Standard
- A transliteration is not a translation
- Additives have recognised Arabic names to use
- Size and placement are governed as well as wording
The Claims Do Not Carry Over
- Claims are limited to what the standards permit
- Infant and young child foods are treated separately
- Some claims need a certificate from the origin country
Allergens Are Declared Differently
- The declared list may not match your home market
- Allergens are identified in both languages
- Animal-derived ingredients need their source named
Product Types
Which Products Do You Review Labels For?
Anything carrying a nutrition panel or a nutrition claim. What changes between them is which extra rules apply on top of the general labelling requirements.
Not sure which rules apply to yours?
Send the artwork and a recipe or specification. We will tell you which requirements bite, what the panel should say, and what has to change before submission.
How It Works
How Does the Label Review Work?
You send artwork and a recipe. We send back a marked-up report Your designer makes the changes. We check the revision before you submit.
Day 1
Send Us What You Have
Current artwork, the recipe or specification, and any nutrient data or test reports you hold.
Day 1
Confirm the Category
Food, beverage, supplement or infant product. The category decides which extra rules apply.
Days 1-3
Check the Panel
Nutrients, units and basis reviewed, and gaps flagged where a laboratory figure will be needed.
Days 1-3
Review the Arabic
Translation, terminology, size and placement assessed against the requirements.
Days 1-3
Test Every Claim
Each claim checked against what is permitted and against whether your composition supports it.
Day 3
Receive the Report
A marked-up assessment setting out what must change, what should change, and why.
On revision
Re-check Before Filing
We review the corrected artwork so nothing new has been introduced in the redesign.
The Arabic
What Are the Arabic Labelling Rules?
Stricter than most brands expect, and part of it governs the artwork rather than the words. Guidance covers the translation, the terminology and the layout.
The Arabic has to be a real translation rather than a transliteration. Writing an English ingredient in Arabic letters does not satisfy it, and technical terms have recognised Arabic forms regulators expect.
Terminology matters more than fluency. Additives and chemical compounds have established Arabic names, and dialect or colloquial wording is not accepted in place of the standard terms.
Then there is layout. Guidance describes the Arabic being no smaller than the foreign language text, and consolidated in one area or mirrored against the English. That constrains the design as well as the copy.
- A genuine translation, not a transliteration
- Standard Arabic terminology for additives
- No dialect or colloquial wording
- Arabic no smaller than the other language
- Consolidated in one area, or mirrored
- Legibility over decorative typefaces
This is a design constraint
Size and placement rules change the artwork itself. Brands that budget for translation and overlook redesign are the ones caught out late.
What We Need
What Do You Need to Send for a Label Review ?
Two things from you, and one thing back from us. The more complete the first set, the fewer assumptions we have to flag in the report.
What You Send
- Current label artwork at print resolution
- Full recipe or product specification
- Nutrient data or laboratory test reports
- Any certificates behind a claim you make
What You Receive
- A marked-up review of the artwork
- The panel as it should read, nutrient by nutrient
- Arabic issues identified line by line
- A verdict on each claim you are making
- A list of what must change before submission
- Notes on anything needing laboratory work
We review and advise. We do not produce the finished artwork, and we say so plainly because the two are different jobs. Your designer or printer makes the changes, and we check the revision before it goes in so the fix has not introduced something new.
Cost
What Does a Label Review Cost?
Priced per label rather than per hour. A range sharing one recipe across pack sizes costs less per item than several unrelated products, because the panel work is shared.
Single Label
Per label
One product, one pack size, reviewed against the panel, the Arabic and the claims on it.
Product Range
Per variant
Several pack sizes or flavours. Each is its own label, though shared recipes reduce the work behind them.
Full Portfolio
On quote
A catalogue reviewed together, usually ahead of a first entry to the market or a rebrand.
What moves the number
How many labels
Each pack size is a separate product here, so a range of three sizes is three labels rather than one.
Whether nutrient data exists
A complete dataset makes the review quick. A missing nutrient means laboratory work before the panel can be finished.
How many claims
Every claim is checked against what is permitted and against your own composition, so a busy front of pack takes longer.
The state of the Arabic
An existing Arabic label reviewed is faster than one that has to be specified from scratch.
A note on pricing
We have not published fee figures for the authorities involved. Published sources on this topic contradict each other, and the most detailed of them names a regulator that was dissolved in 2020, so we would rather confirm current charges than repeat them. Riz & Mona Consultancy quotes the review work against your label count.
Afterwards
What Happens After the Review?
You have a list of changes and the reasoning behind each one. The label then goes through the normal assessment as part of registration, with far less chance of coming back.
- The artwork goes to submission already corrected
- Claims have been tested before a reviewer sees them
- The panel matches the recipe behind it
- Arabic issues are resolved before printing
- Riz & Mona Consultancy re-checks the revision
Who Governs What
Who Sets the Labelling Rules?
Standards written regionally, adopted nationally, and enforced locally. That is why a label can satisfy a Gulf standard and still meet an emirate requirement it missed.
01
Writes the standards
GCC Standardization Organization
Publishes the labelling and nutritional labelling standards the Gulf states adopt as their own.
02
Adopts them nationally
Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology
Maintains the UAE versions of those standards, which is the form that applies to your product.
03
Assesses your label
Dubai Municipality
Runs the label assessment that food goes through before import, alongside product registration.
04
Produces the numbers
Accredited Testing Laboratories
Analyse the product where declared values need evidence behind them rather than a calculation.
Get Started
Have Your Label Checked Before You Print
Send the artwork, the recipe and any nutrient data you hold. We will tell you what the panel should say, where the Arabic falls short, and which claims will not survive a review.
Marked-up label review•Every claim assessed•Arabic checked properly•Revision re-checked free
Riz & Mona Consultancy reviews and advises on labels. Artwork production stays with your designer or printer.