You are here
On 7 May 2018, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries published a proposed standard regarding the declaration of allergens on the menus of food establishments. No effective date for the proposed standard has been established.
Verisk 3E Review
The standard applies to all food establishments including: restaurants, cafes, ice cream shops, bakeries, pastry shops, cafeterias, and restaurants, cafes, and bakeries located within shops, supermarkets, amusement parks, colleges, universities, and government agencies.
The proposed standard specifies that data on allergenic ingredients on menus should be made accessible and available to consumers. Allergen information should be written in Arabic but can be translated into any other language besides Arabic if the content does not differ from the Arabic version. Also, the allergen components that the meals contain must be indicated for all types of food offered in the food establishments. This requirement applies regardless of the medium used to display the menu (wood board or electronic display for example).
Allergens that should be disclosed include:
- Cereals containing gluten such as wheat, barley, oats, and millet;
- Crustacean and their products;
- Eggs and their products;
- Fish products;
- Peanuts and their products;
- Milk and milk products;
- Sulfite at a concentration of 10 ppm or more;
- Celery products;
- Mustard products;
- Sesame seeds and their products;
- Mollusks and their products;
- Lupine and their products; and
- Soybean and their products.
Allergen information must be displayed as follows:
- (Contains ....) if the product contains one of the allergens listed;
- (May contain ....) or a similar phrasing to illustrate the potential for cross-contamination of meals with a listed allergen.
Verisk 3E Analysis
The proposed standard does not specify an effective date and has listed Food allergen labeling and Information requirements under the EU Food Information for Consumers, Regulation No. 1169/2011 as a reference.
Top