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Selling food supplements in the UAE

In Dubai, health supplements are a regulated consumer product: each must be registered by Dubai Municipality in its Montaji system before it is placed on the market, with a free sale certificate, composition report and GMP evidence. A product presented as preventing or treating disease is not a supplement; medical products fall to the Emirates Drug Establishment.

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

Registration (Dubai)
Dubai Municipality, through the Montaji platform
Who registers
The importing company or the local agent
Key documents
Free sale certificate, artwork, composition report, GMP
Shelf life at entry
At least 50% remaining and not less than six months
Medical products
The Emirates Drug Establishment

Before a product goes on sale

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

  1. 1Is it a health supplement, or does what it claims make it a medical product? Read more
  2. 2Is the product registered in Montaji before it is imported for the Dubai market? Read more
  3. 3Are the free sale certificate, composition report and GMP evidence ready? Read more
  4. 4Do the label and claims stay within what a supplement may say? Read more
  5. 5Will each consignment clear: shelf life, documents and storage? Read more

The rules, by area

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

What counts as a health supplement

Where a supplement ends and a medical product begins.

  • Dubai Municipality defines health supplements as products intended for ingestion that contain a dietary ingredient intended to add nutritional value to the diet.
  • They are not represented as conventional food or as the sole item of a meal, and are not intended to prevent, treat, cure or alleviate the symptoms of diseases.
  • Examples given include vitamins, minerals, enzymes, proteins and amino acids, essential fatty acids, herbal and botanical supplements, probiotics, fibre and prebiotics, bodybuilding and weight management products.
  • The Emirates Drug Establishment, established on 29 September 2023, is the federal authority for medical and pharmaceutical products.

How we help: Compliant Always reads your label and marketing copy for wording that would move the product out of the supplement category, and keeps that reading with the product. Ask about this

Registration in Montaji

Dubai Municipality's registration of consumer products, which includes health supplements.

  • Under Local Order No. 11 of 2003, Dubai Municipality requires consumer products to be registered before they are placed on the Dubai market, and businesses dealing in them to be licensed for consumer products trading.
  • Imported consumer products for the local market are registered in Montaji by the importing company or the local agent, who may delegate the consignee to release consignments.
  • Registration documents include a free sale certificate authenticated in the country of origin, product artwork, a manufacturer's composition and ingredient concentration report, and GMP evidence for health supplements.
  • Other documents may be asked for, such as halal or organic certificates, a lab test report, a safety assessment, stability data and scientific support for claims.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the free sale certificate, composition report and GMP certificate with each product, dated, and shows which will expire before the registration is used again. Ask about this

Labelling and claims

What the label and claims may say.

  • The importer, manufacturer, authorised agent or anyone responsible for placing the product on the market answers for its presentation, labelling, claims and instructions for use.
  • A medical claim is one that a product or its ingredients can prevent, cure, diagnose or alleviate a disease or its symptoms.
  • Label information must be shown clearly and indelibly, and the label should not be easily removable.
  • The quantity label follows Cabinet Resolution No. 83 of 2024, in Arabic, with other languages allowed.

How we help: Compliant Always reads each claim on your label against the definitions and keeps the scientific support for it on file with the product. Ask about this

Import clearance

What each consignment into Dubai needs.

  • Consignments for the local market are processed through Montaji's import service, and the products must be registered before importation.
  • Imported consumer products have at least 50% of their shelf life remaining, and not less than six months, at the time of entry.
  • Clearance documents include the customs bill of entry, airway bill or bill of lading, delivery order, purchase invoice and packing list, with halal, organic or lab reports where applicable.
  • A consignment may be released with detention to the company's Dubai warehouse where samples are needed for laboratory tests or a registration is still in progress.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the documents for each consignment with its batch, and shows remaining shelf life against the entry threshold before goods are shipped. Ask about this

Enforcement

What happens when a product does not comply.

  • Where products are found non-compliant at the port, imports are stopped and the products are not allowed into the UAE market.
  • Dubai Municipality publishes a list of non-complying health supplements.
  • Fines in Dubai's guidelines include AED 500 per certificate for non-compliant documents and AED 1,000 for importing unregistered, expired or contaminated consumer products.

How we help: Compliant Always watches the published non-complying lists and shows you when a product or ingredient you sell appears. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
Local agent or importerRegistering the product in Montaji and clearing each consignment.Registration documents and consignment papers kept together and dated.
ManufacturerThe composition report, GMP evidence and any safety or stability data.Manufacturer documents collected once and reused for each registration.
Brand ownerLabel artwork and claims, and the evidence behind them.Claims read against the medical-claim definition, with support on file.

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 I need to register food supplements in Dubai?
Yes. Dubai Municipality treats health supplements as a regulated consumer product, and imported consumer products for the local market must be registered in its Montaji system before they are placed on the Dubai market.
Who can register a health supplement in Montaji?
The importing company or the local agent. Where the consignee differs from the local agent who registered the product, the agent delegates the consignee electronically through Montaji.
What documents does Montaji registration need for a supplement?
A free sale certificate authenticated in the country of origin, product artwork, the manufacturer's composition and ingredient concentration report, and GMP evidence. Lab reports, a safety assessment, stability data or claim support may also be requested.
What is the difference between a health supplement and a medicine in the UAE?
Dubai Municipality defines supplements as not intended to prevent, treat, cure or alleviate disease. The Emirates Drug Establishment is the federal authority for medical and pharmaceutical products.
Can a supplement label make medical claims in Dubai?
Dubai Municipality defines a medical claim as one that a product can prevent, cure, diagnose or alleviate a disease or its symptoms, and supplements are defined as not intended to do so. Registration may require scientific support for claims.
How much shelf life must imported supplements have?
At least 50% of the shelf life remaining, and not less than six months, at the time of entry, under Dubai Municipality's consumer product import guidelines.
Are products imported for re-export or samples registered?
No. Products imported only for re-export, exhibitions, market tests or marketing samples are exempt from registration but must be listed in Montaji.
What happens if a supplement fails at the port?
Where products are found non-compliant, the imports are stopped and are not allowed into the UAE market. Dubai Municipality also publishes a list of non-complying health supplements.
Does a supplement importer need a warehouse in Dubai?
For release with detention, for example while samples are tested or a registration is in progress, the company must have a Dubai warehouse recorded in its Montaji profile.
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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