1. Controlled and Prohibited Goods
Live animals are permitted to export from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia. Exotic and non-domestic animals are not permitted entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia unless used for official government purposes. Dangerous and aggressive dogs such as Rottweilers and Pit Bulls are not permitted entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under any circumstances.
For exporting animal products, establishments need to be registered by Saudi Food Safety Authority (SFDA). Currently, no Bangladeshi establishment is registered by SFDA other than fishery products. A list of approved establishments can be found in the following link: List of exported food establishments to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | Saudi Food and Drug Authority (sfda.gov.sa).
According to the paragraph 1.1 under article 6 of Conditions & Requirements for Importing Food to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “Without prejudice to the requirements of Articles 4, SFDA shall make a list of all countries approved, on health grounds, for exporting products of animal origin and other products to KSA, drawing upon relevant fact sheets and other information published by international entities”.
Without establishment registration, processing food of animal origin can be imported case-by-case basis and upon request from the importer. According to the paragraph 2.2 under article 6 of Conditions & Requirements for Importing Food to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “Import from establishments, which are not granted SFDA approval, shall only be permitted if the requirements stated in paragraph 1.2 under article 6, are met”. Paragraph 1.2 under article 6 states that, “Where any country fails to meet the eligibility requirements for entry into the ‘country list’, SFDA may issue import permits for food products on a case-by-case basis and upon request from the importer. Such permits may entail the provision of attestations from a responsible official body in the country of export”.
(a) Establishment registration
Establishments exporting animal products of shall be listed by Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA). SFDA may permit import from unapproved establishments on a case-by-case basis. A list of approved establishments can be found in the following link: List of exported food establishments to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | Saudi Food and Drug Authority (sfda.gov.sa). The guideline for Process for approving foreign competent control authorities and establishments interested in exporting food Products to the kingdom of Saudi Arab (KSA) can be found in the link: Process for Approving.
(b) Residue Plans for Foods of Animal Origin
According to the article 4.1 of Conditions & Requirements for Importing Food to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “All countries intending to export their products of animal origin to KSA shall have in place an effective residue control plans for banned or controlled chemicals, antibiotics, hormones or/and other contaminants in line with SFDA requirements. These plans shall be in place for the particular type of food intended to be exported to KSA.”
(c) Traceability of Foods of Animal Origin and Their Products
According to the article 4.3 of Conditions & Requirements for Importing Food to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “All countries intending to export their food products of animal origin to KSA shall have in place a traceability system for such products through all the stages of food chain”.
(d) Import Permit
According to the paragraph 3 under article 6 of Conditions & Requirements for Importing Food to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “Without prejudice to what is stated in these requirements, import permit procedures issued by the Ministry of Trade (NO. 106 dated 7/4/1441) regarding import permits for poultry and their products, fish and aquatic products of animal origin, table eggs and products thereof, must be applied according to its guideline approved by the SFDA.”
(a) Certificate of consignment/ shipment for halal slaughter
According to the paragraph 1.1 under article 4.5 of Conditions & Requirements for Importing Food to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “The consignment/ shipment of whole meat and meat parts intended for export to Saudi Arabia shall be accompanied by a certificate of consignment/shipment for halal slaughter verifying that the animals were slaughtered in accordance with Saudi/GSO technical regulations, provided that the certificate is issued from a halal certification body recognised by Halal center-SFDA”.
(b) Certificate of consignment/shipment for halal products
According to the paragraph 2.1 under article 4.5 of Conditions & Requirements for Importing Food to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “The consignment/shipment of products containing in its production, components that require Halal Certificate, accordance with Saudi/GSO technical regulations which stipulate that such ingredients comply with KSA halal standards and regulation, shall be accompanied by certificate of consignment for halal products issued by a halal certification body recognised by Halal Center -SFDA”.
(c) Health Certificates
According to the paragraph 3.1 under article 4.5 of Conditions & Requirements for Importing Food to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “Consignments of products of animal origin shall be accompanied by appropriate health certificates issued by the competent authority in the exporting country.” The format of model health certificate of Saudi Arabia can be found on the following link: Conditions & Requirements for Importing Food to Saudi Arabia.
(d) Supporting documentation for any label claim
According to GCC Guide for Control on Imported Foods, supporting documentation for any labeled claims (nutrition claims, health claims, and other claims) is required. Nutrition and health claims for food shall only be acceptable if claim and wording thereof has been approved by internationally recognized scientific bodies. The guide can be found on the following link: GCC Guide for Control on Imported Foods. According to Guideline for Submitting a claim Evaluation Request of Health and Nutrition Claims published by SFDA, Health (including functional claims) and nutritional claims used on food labels for advertising purposes are permitted if the claim complies with all the necessary requirements (including restrictions & warnings) listed in the National Standards /Technical Regulation list No. SFDA.FD 2333 “Requirements for Health and Nutrition Claims”. Health and nutritional claims that are not mentioned on the list of unauthorized claims can be permitted if the requirements mentioned in this guide are completed and approved by the Saudi Food and Drug authority. The guide can be found in the link: https://www.sfda.gov.sa/en/regulations/74218. For approval of unauthorized claim, application needs to submit to SFDA. The guideline for application for health and nutrition claim can be found on the guideline titled “Application for Health and Nutrition Claim Evaluation” published SFDA. The guideline can be found on the following link: Guideline for Submitting a claim Evaluation Request of Health and Nutrition Claims.
Besides these, according to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) in Saudi Arabia, there are 3 conditions to allow the import of live animals into Saudi Arabia:
In case of pet dispatch, the required documents must be attached:
4. Food Regulation and Standards
(a) Maximum Residues Levels (MRLs) of Pesticides
Maximum level of pesticide residues must be within the limit set by “GSO 382: Maximum Limits of Pesticide Residues in Agricultural and Food Products”. Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) published a notice named “Guidance 1418/ 14 Jan 2013 Mandatory Compliance with the Pesticide MRLs in Food”, which recommended importers to accompany each shipment with test results, from laboratories which are internationally accredited and certified with ISO 17025, confirming its compliance with limits. The guidance can be found in the link: Guidance 1418/ 14 Jan 2013 Mandatory Compliance with the Pesticide MRLs in Food.
(b) Food Additives
Additives used in animal products shall not exceed the limits mentioned in the GSO 2500:2022 - Additives Permitted For Use In Food Stuffs. The technical regulation is supplemented by GSO 2500:2022/Amd1:2023 - Additives Permitted For Use In Food Stuffs.
(c) Contaminants
Maximum level of contaminant in food must be within the limit set by “GSO 193: Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed”.
(d) Microorganisms
Maximum level of microorganism in food must be within the limit set by “GSO 1016:2015 - Microbiological Criteria for Foodstuffs”.
(e) Product standards
GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) has developed standard and technical regulation for animal products. The technical regulations are mandatory to follow where standards are optional. For finding the technical regulations and standards, exporters are advised to consult with the website: GCC Standardization Organization. Some of the standards or technical regulations related to animal products are below:
GSO 996:2021 - Livestock Meat Chilled and Frozen
GSO 2303:2013 - Frozen Liver
GSO 2203:2012 - Packaged Meat Containing Vegetables and Sauce
GSO 2204:2012 - Prepared Meat - Heat Treated Pressed Meats
GSO 2206:2012 - Prepared Meats - Meat Treated with Salt Solution and Heat Treated
GSO 2036:2010 - Meat Products – Pastrami
GSO 1924:2009 - Dried Meat
GSO 1921:2009 - Prepared Meats: Dry and Semi-Dry Fermented Sausage ICS
GSO 1999:2009 - Canned Crab Meat
GSO 1870:2008 - Chilled and Fromzen Ostrich Meat
GSO 1860:2008 - Processed Edible Animal Tallaw
GSO 1390:2002 - Chilled and Frozen Poultry Edible Giblets
GSO 504:1994 - Canned Corned Beef
GSO 2300:2022 - Chilled and Frozen Marinated Meat
GSO CODEX STAN 98:2021 - Cooked Cured Chopped Meat
GSO 948:2021 - Prepared Meat: Burger Meat
GSO 2541:2021 - Mechanically Deboned Poultry Meat Intended for Further Processing
GSO 1816:2007 - Ground Meat
GSO 1329:2002 - Processed Meat: Chilled or Frozen Meat Kofta
GSO 835:1997 - Organs and Viscera Of Mutton, Goat, Cattle, Camel And Buffalo (Chilled and Frozen)
GSO 985:2023 - Sterilized Milk
GSO 1347:2023 - Ultra-High Temperature Treated (UHT) Milk and (UHT) Flavoured Milk
GSO 992:2023 - Yoghurt
GSO 1326:2010/Amd 1:2021 - Frozen Yoghurt
GSO 474:2010 - Flavoured Yoghurt
GSO 2519:2023 - Fermented Milk Products Heat Treated After Fermentation
GSO 2332:2021 - Cream Analouge
GSO 2094:2021 - Emmental Cheese
GSO 2296:2021 - Evaporated Milk
GSO 984:1998/Amd 1:2021 - Pasteurized Milk
GSO CODEX STAN 207:2021 - Milk Powders and Cream Powder
GSO 832:2021 - Standard of Cream Cheese
GSO 2033:2021 - Laban, Flavoured Laban, And Laban Drink
GSO 651:2021 - Standard for Cream And Prepared Creams
GSO 2129:2011/Amd 1:2016 - Blend of Skimmed Milk And Vegetable Fat In Powdered Form
GSO 1408:2002/Amd 2:2016 - Imitation White Cheese with Vegetable Oils
GSO 2128:2011/Amd 1:2016 - Blend of Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk and Vegetable Fat
GSO 1983:2009 - Goat Milk
GSO CODEX STAN 243:2021 - Fermented Milks
GSO 174:2021/Amd 1:2022 - Raw Milk
GSO 1992:2023 – Butter
GSO 1327:2002/Amd 1:2022 - Processed Meat: Minced Chicken Meat
GSO 322:2016 - Chilled Chicken
GSO 1002:2014/Amd 1:2015 - Chicken Eggs
GSO 1389:2002 - Chilled and Frozen Domesticated Birds and Rabbits
GSO 1327:2002 - Processed Meat: Minced Chicken Meat
(f) Labelling requirements
Information regarding stores for frozen and chilled foodstuff on product’s level must comply with the GSO 970:1997 Stores For Frozen And Chilled Foodstuff -Part 3 : Labeling And Marking.
The prepackaged food must maintain the labelling requirements set by GSO 9:2022 - Labelling of Pre-packaged Food Stuffs.
GSO 2406:2014 Guidelines on Labeling Of Food Products lays down the guideline for food labeling.
Nutritional information provided in product’s label must comply with the GSO 2233:2021 - Requirements of Nutritional Labeling.
Any nutrition and health claim on product’s level must comply with the GSO 2333:2022 - Requirements for Health and Nutrition Claims on Food Products.
(g) Packaging and Marking Requirements
All packages used for food packaging should be in accordance with the following standards:
GSO 839:2021 - Food Packages - Part 1: General Requirements.
GSO 1863:2021 - Food packages - Part 2: Plastic package – General requirements.
GSO 2545:2021 - Recycled Plastic Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Food.
GSO 2231:2012 - General Requirements for the Materials Intended to Come into Contact with Food.