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Selling soft drinks, juices and water in the UAE

In the UAE, drinks are food under Federal Law No. 10 of 2015 and are registered in ZAD. Juices and beverages, bottled drinking water and energy drinks are also regulated products: each needs a MoIAT conformity certificate under the Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS) before it is placed on the market, with test reports and a compliant label.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Food law
Federal Law No. 10 of 2015 on Food Safety
Juices and beverages
Cabinet Resolution No. 30 of 2018, ECAS Model B
Bottled water
Cabinet Resolution No. 26 of 2013
Energy drinks
UAE.S GSO 1926, with warning labels
Certificate issuer
The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT)

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is the drink registered in ZAD, and is its label checked against UAE.S 9:2019? Read more
  2. 2Is it a juice, beverage, bottled water or energy drink covered by a MoIAT scheme? Read more
  3. 3Is there a current test report from an accredited laboratory, and a food safety certificate for the factory? Read more
  4. 4Does an energy drink carry the warning labels its standard requires? Read more
  5. 5Is the water bottled in recycled plastic? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Food law, registration and labelling

The rules every drink meets as a food.

  • Food, imported or produced locally, must be registered in the electronic ZAD system before it is handled in UAE markets, under Ministerial Decree No. 239 of 2018.
  • No food may be imported into the UAE for the first time without the approval of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
  • UAE.S 9:2019 on labelling prepackaged foodstuffs and UAE.S GSO 2233:2019 on nutritional labelling are mandatory under Cabinet Resolution No. 4 of 2020.
  • Liquid quantities are declared in legal units on an Arabic label under Cabinet Resolution No. 83 of 2024.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the ZAD registration and label version together, and reads the label against the mandatory standards. Ask about this

Conformity certificate for juices and beverages

MoIAT's scheme for juice and beverage products.

  • Cabinet Resolution No. 30 of 2018 applies to the juice and beverage products whose standards are listed in its table; products made for export are excluded.
  • The supplier obtains a conformity certificate before placing the product on the market, under ECAS, using conformity assessment Model B.
  • MoIAT's requirements list a test report from an accredited laboratory, a valid quality or food safety management certificate, compliance with the food contact materials regulation, and a label meeting the standard.
  • Imports also need a health certificate from the country of origin, from MOCCAE's list of countries, and a Halal National Mark licence or organic certificate where the label declares the product halal or organic.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the ECAS certificate, the test report behind it and its expiry date with the product, and shows what is due before renewal. Ask about this

Energy drinks

The additional requirements for energy drinks.

  • MoIAT lists energy drinks as a regulated product, with test reports against UAE.S GSO 1926 that are valid for one year.
  • The product's label, warning label and affixed labels meet annex 6 of UAE.S GSO 1926.
  • The application includes the ingredients and the percentage of each additive, a health certificate from the country of origin, a certificate of origin, a halal certificate from a body the UAE recognises and evidence of a food safety management system.

How we help: Compliant Always tracks the one-year validity of energy drink test reports and reads warning labels against the standard's annex. Ask about this

Bottled drinking water

The drinking water scheme and the rules for recycled bottles.

  • Bottled drinking water is regulated under Cabinet Resolution No. 26 of 2013, with a test report from an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory, a QMS or HACCP manual, a quality control plan and a compliant label.
  • Ministerial Decision No. 105 of 2022 covers bottled drinking water in recycled plastic (rPET) bottles placed on the UAE market, free zones included, and water for export.
  • Water in rPET bottles meets the safety and quality conditions of Cabinet Resolution No. 26 of 2013, and is registered and certified under the full quality assurance model (Model H).
  • Recycling facilities making rPET for drinking water bottles meet the standards in the decision's annex, including UAE.S GSO 2545:2021, with an EFSA opinion or US FDA no-objection letter among the recognised approvals.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the recycler's documents and the water's conformity certificate with each bottle format, and shows what lapses first. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
Manufacturer or bottlerMaking the drink to the standard, the factory's quality system and the test reports.Test reports and system certificates kept with each product, with expiry dates.
Importer or distributorThe conformity certificate, ZAD registration and the health certificate from origin.Certificates read and dated before each shipment.
Brand ownerLabel artwork, warnings and any halal or organic claim.Label versions read against the standards that apply.
Packaging supplierBottles and closures that meet the food contact rules, and rPET approvals where used.Supplier declarations collected once and shown to each customer that asks.

Emirates

Federal law and MoIAT's technical regulations apply across the seven emirates. The Product Safety Law applies to products placed on the market in the UAE, free zones included.

Food safety is enforced locally: the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority in Abu Dhabi, and the municipal authorities in Dubai and Sharjah (u.ae).

Dubai Municipality also requires regulated consumer products, such as cosmetics, detergents, health supplements and toys, to be registered in its Montaji system before they are placed on the Dubai market.

Questions businesses ask

Do juices need a conformity certificate in the UAE?
Yes. Under Cabinet Resolution No. 30 of 2018, the supplier obtains a conformity certificate before placing juice and beverage products on the market, through ECAS, using Model B.
What does MoIAT ask for to certify a juice or beverage?
A trade licence, a test report from an accredited laboratory, a valid quality or food safety management certificate, food contact compliance, a compliant label, a health certificate from origin, and halal or organic evidence where the label claims it.
Are energy drinks regulated in the UAE?
Yes. MoIAT lists energy drinks as a regulated product. Test reports against UAE.S GSO 1926 are valid for one year, and labels carry the warning and affixed labels in annex 6 of that standard.
Is bottled water regulated in the UAE?
Yes, under Cabinet Resolution No. 26 of 2013, the UAE scheme for the control of drinking water. Certification needs an accredited test report, a QMS or HACCP manual and a compliant label.
Can drinking water be sold in recycled plastic bottles in the UAE?
Yes, under Ministerial Decision No. 105 of 2022. The water meets Cabinet Resolution No. 26 of 2013 and is certified under Model H, and the rPET recycler meets the listed standards.
Do drinks need ZAD registration?
Drinks are food, and food that is imported or produced locally must be registered in ZAD before it is handled in UAE markets, under Ministerial Decree No. 239 of 2018.
Which labelling standard applies to drinks?
UAE.S 9:2019 for prepackaged foodstuffs and UAE.S GSO 2233:2019 for nutrition labelling, both mandatory under Cabinet Resolution No. 4 of 2020, with energy drinks also meeting UAE.S GSO 1926.
Who issues conformity certificates for drinks in the UAE?
The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, which took over the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) and issues certificates under ECAS.
Does a juice sold as halal need a mark?
MoIAT's requirements list a Halal National Mark licence where the product is declared halal on its label.
How does Compliant Always help with selling in the UAE?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, including the federal schemes and the emirate-level registrations. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in the UAE and what your paperwork needs to show.

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