SFDA Food is a conformity assessment programme developed by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) to ensure the quality and safety of food and beverage products imported into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
About SFDA

• The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) was established under the Council of Ministers resolution no (1) dated 07/01/1424 H, as an independent body that directly reports to the President of Council of Ministers.
• The main purpose of the SFDA is to ensure safety of food and drugs for human and animal consumption, and the safety of biological and chemical substances, and electronic products, being imported into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

About SFDA Food
The SFDA Food programme is a mandatory conformity assessment programme developed by the SFDA to ensure the quality and safety of food and beverage products imported into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
What are the main purposes of the SFDA Food programme?

• To insure the safety of the products before they are used by consumers
• The establishment of a global database to notify about all local imported cosmetics products
• A clearance authorization of the imported food products
• The development of specific standards for Food & Beverages

What is regulated under the SFDA Food programme?
To find out if your product is regulated under the SFDA programme, please consult our regulated product list page.
About Cotecna

• As a trusted partner of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Cotecna is accredited to help support the SFDA Food programme and perform conformity assessment of food and beverage products imported into the country in accordance with all regulations, rules and specifications approved by SFDA.
• As a leading provider of testing, inspection and certification services, we offer solutions to facilitate trade and make supply chains safer and more efficient for our clients. Our technical expertise combined with the superior quality of our services and our ability to anticipate our clients’ needs is what sets us apart.

SFDA Food Certification Process
Exporting to Saudi Arabia? Let us guide you through the SFDA Food conformity assessment process, and the steps you need to take to get your food & beverage products certified for import into the country.
Cotecna has been accredited by The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) to ensure the compliance to the applicable standards of all regulated food products imported into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The conformity assessment programme aims to ensure safety and security of food and feed, safety and security of pesticides and ease commercial traffic flow while maintaining safety of food and reinforcement of consumers and clients confidence in food control authority

Step-by-Step Process

• The exporter / importer will have to fill out the Request of Certification (RFC) and Declaration of Conformity
• Once we receive your request, a dedicated and local coordinator will review your demand.
• Your coordinator will check all the necessary documentation and from that, define the scope of needs.
• When necessary and to comply with importing SFDA's regulations, your dedicated coordinator will guide you through the needed verifications and will schedule them (testing of samples, inspection and/or audit when required)
• After satisfactory results, Cotecna will issue the product certificate (valid one year)

Routes for SFDA Food
To assess the conformity of a shipment, the verification of conformity process will follow one of two levels of compliance, named “routes”. The choice of the route depends on the profile of the exporter. These are :

• Route A for exporters with infrequent shipments (Non registered products) : It involves pre-shipment inspection and pre-shipment testing of products. Physical inspection can be carried out to verify the labelling/markage, storage and other visual verification.
• Route B for regular exporters with homogenous products (Registered products) : This process involves product testing for compliance and the statement of Product Registration is valid for a year.

Request a Certification
To learn more about the SFDA Food programme, or to get a product certificate for your exports, please send us a request.
SFDA Food Regulated Products
Find out if your food products are a regulated product under the SFDA Food programme and what special requirements it is subject to before obtaining your Certificate Of Conformity.

List of Regulated Products
We can accompany you in the issuance of your Certificate of Conformity (COC) for all Food Products you wish to import in Saudi Arabia including the mandatory following :

• All fruit and vegetables from Egypt
• All cheese products from Egypt
• All rice from Egypt
• All food products (Animal/Vegetable origin) from Jordan
• All Processed Vegetables and Fruits from India
• All Red Meat from India
• All Rice (Milled) from India
• All tea and its related products with a Sri Lanka origin

Prohibited and Restricted Products
The initial list of food products under the scope does not include certain Products such as but, not limited to :

• Swine and its meat, blood and all extracted from it
• Frog meat
• Foodstuff and preparations from animal blood
• Wines and intoxicants that contain alcoholic substances
• Nutmeg fruit, seeds and powder
• Products including Pork and Pork products

Labelling Requirements
All food products need marking / labeling as per GSO 9 requirements. All the details of marking by product category will have to be available for specific food products.

SFDA Food is a conformity assessment programme developed by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) to ensure the quality and safety of food and beverage products imported into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
About SFDA

• The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) was established under the Council of Ministers resolution no (1) dated 07/01/1424 H, as an independent body that directly reports to the President of Council of Ministers.
• The main purpose of the SFDA is to ensure safety of food and drugs for human and animal consumption, and the safety of biological and chemical substances, and electronic products, being imported into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

About SFDA Food
The SFDA Food programme is a mandatory conformity assessment programme developed by the SFDA to ensure the quality and safety of food and beverage products imported into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
What are the main purposes of the SFDA Food programme?

• To insure the safety of the products before they are used by consumers
• The establishment of a global database to notify about all local imported cosmetics products
• A clearance authorization of the imported food products
• The development of specific standards for Food & Beverages

What is regulated under the SFDA Food programme?
To find out if your product is regulated under the SFDA programme, please consult our regulated product list page.
About Cotecna

• As a trusted partner of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Cotecna is accredited to help support the SFDA Food programme and perform conformity assessment of food and beverage products imported into the country in accordance with all regulations, rules and specifications approved by SFDA.
• As a leading provider of testing, inspection and certification services, we offer solutions to facilitate trade and make supply chains safer and more efficient for our clients. Our technical expertise combined with the superior quality of our services and our ability to anticipate our clients’ needs is what sets us apart.

SFDA Food Certification Process
Exporting to Saudi Arabia? Let us guide you through the SFDA Food conformity assessment process, and the steps you need to take to get your food & beverage products certified for import into the country.
Cotecna has been accredited by The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) to ensure the compliance to the applicable standards of all regulated food products imported into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The conformity assessment programme aims to ensure safety and security of food and feed, safety and security of pesticides and ease commercial traffic flow while maintaining safety of food and reinforcement of consumers and clients confidence in food control authority

Step-by-Step Process

• The exporter / importer will have to fill out the Request of Certification (RFC) and Declaration of Conformity
• Once we receive your request, a dedicated and local coordinator will review your demand.
• Your coordinator will check all the necessary documentation and from that, define the scope of needs.
• When necessary and to comply with importing SFDA's regulations, your dedicated coordinator will guide you through the needed verifications and will schedule them (testing of samples, inspection and/or audit when required)
• After satisfactory results, Cotecna will issue the product certificate (valid one year)

Routes for SFDA Food
To assess the conformity of a shipment, the verification of conformity process will follow one of two levels of compliance, named “routes”. The choice of the route depends on the profile of the exporter. These are :

• Route A for exporters with infrequent shipments (Non registered products) : It involves pre-shipment inspection and pre-shipment testing of products. Physical inspection can be carried out to verify the labelling/markage, storage and other visual verification.
• Route B for regular exporters with homogenous products (Registered products) : This process involves product testing for compliance and the statement of Product Registration is valid for a year.

Request a Certification
To learn more about the SFDA Food programme, or to get a product certificate for your exports, please send us a request.
SFDA Food Regulated Products
Find out if your food products are a regulated product under the SFDA Food programme and what special requirements it is subject to before obtaining your Certificate Of Conformity.

List of Regulated Products
We can accompany you in the issuance of your Certificate of Conformity (COC) for all Food Products you wish to import in Saudi Arabia including the mandatory following :

• All fruit and vegetables from Egypt
• All cheese products from Egypt
• All rice from Egypt
• All food products (Animal/Vegetable origin) from Jordan
• All Processed Vegetables and Fruits from India
• All Red Meat from India
• All Rice (Milled) from India
• All tea and its related products with a Sri Lanka origin

Prohibited and Restricted Products
The initial list of food products under the scope does not include certain Products such as but, not limited to :

• Swine and its meat, blood and all extracted from it
• Frog meat
• Foodstuff and preparations from animal blood
• Wines and intoxicants that contain alcoholic substances
• Nutmeg fruit, seeds and powder
• Products including Pork and Pork products

Labelling Requirements
All food products need marking / labeling as per GSO 9 requirements. All the details of marking by product category will have to be available for specific food products.