How to Comply with SFDA Menu Labeling Laws in Saudi Arabia (2026)

1. What is the SFDA?

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) — هيئة الغذاء والدواء — is the federal regulatory body governing food safety, nutrition labeling, drug approval, and medical device standards in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Established in 2003 and reporting to the Council of Ministers, the SFDA is the primary authority with which all food businesses operating in Saudi Arabia must comply.

The SFDA's mandate covers:

• Food safety standards for all imported and domestically produced food
• Nutritional labeling and calorie disclosure for packaged and restaurant food
• Allergen disclosure requirements
• Halal certification oversight in coordination with other government bodies
• Restaurant and food establishment inspections (in coordination with municipalities)

2. Who Must Comply?

Mandatory: Chain Restaurants (50+ Outlets)

The SFDA's calorie disclosure mandate is currently mandatory for chain food establishments operating 50 or more outlets nationally. This encompasses all major QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) chains, fast casual chains, coffee chains, and any branded F&B concept with 50+ locations in Saudi Arabia.

Examples of businesses in scope: McDonald's, KFC, Al Baik, Kudu, Starbucks, Dunkin', Costa Coffee, Tim Hortons, all major hotel restaurant chains.

Strongly Recommended: All Food Establishments

SFDA has indicated its intention to expand mandatory requirements to smaller establishments over time. Additionally:

• Municipal health inspectors across Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam increasingly ask for allergen and nutritional information even from independent restaurants
• Health-conscious Saudi consumers, particularly younger demographics and the growing fitness culture, actively seek nutritional information
• Vision 2030's health initiative targets a significant reduction in obesity — regulators are incentivised to expand coverage
• Restaurants on delivery platforms (Jahez, HungerStation, Noon Food) are expected to display calorie counts as platforms update their requirements

3. What Information Must Be Displayed?

Mandatory (Chain Restaurants)

• Total calories per serving/item — displayed prominently next to the item name and price on all consumer-facing menus
• Calorie information must appear on: dine-in menus, drive-through menu boards, digital menus, delivery platform listings, QR code menus, and combo/meal deal configurations
• The calorie count must be shown per standard serving size as offered to the customer

Recommended (Best Practice)

• Total fat (g) and saturated fat (g)
• Total carbohydrates (g) and sugars (g)
• Protein (g)
• Sodium (mg)
• Percentage of daily recommended intake (%DV) where practical

Display Requirements

• Calorie information must be displayed in the same font size as the item price or larger
• Must be clearly legible — not buried in footnotes or displayed in a colour that blends with the background
• For combo meals: total calories for the combo as configured must be shown, not just per-component

4. Allergen Disclosure Requirements

SFDA requires disclosure of the 14 major allergens. These must be clearly indicated on menus, either inline next to items or via an allergen key/legend visible to customers.

Customers with allergies must be able to access this information before ordering — not only on request. A digital menu that filters by allergen (as Menu 1000 supports) is one of the most effective ways to meet this requirement.

5. Arabic Language Rules

Under Saudi regulations, Arabic is mandatory on all food labels and consumer menus in the Kingdom. Specific requirements:

• Arabic text must be the primary language — it must appear at least as prominently as any English text
• Arabic font size must be equal to or larger than the English equivalent
• Nutritional information, calorie counts, and allergen indicators must all be available in Arabic
• For imported food items, Arabic labeling must be applied before the product enters consumer markets (via an approved local distributor)

6. How to Get Nutritional Data for Your Menu Items

Obtaining accurate calorie and nutritional data is the biggest operational hurdle for most restaurants. You have three main approaches:

Option 1: SFDA-Approved Laboratory Testing (Most Accurate)

Send standardised samples of your dishes (prepared exactly as served) to an SFDA-accredited food testing laboratory. The lab conducts proximate analysis to determine calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, sodium and more. Cost: SAR 500–2,000 per dish. Recommended for proprietary recipes and premium items. Results are legally defensible.

Option 2: Food Composition Database + Nutritionist Review

Use recognised food composition databases (USDA, FSANZ, or SFDA's own database) combined with your standardised recipe card quantities and a certified nutritionist's review. This is faster and less expensive than full lab testing, but is only accurate if your recipes are rigorously standardised and portion-controlled. Cost: SAR 150–500 per dish depending on the nutritionist's fee.

Option 3: Accredited Nutrition Calculation Software

Several SFDA-recognised software platforms allow recipe entry with ingredient weights, and auto-calculate nutritional values from built-in food databases. This is the fastest and cheapest option but accuracy depends on data quality. Best for straightforward items with standard ingredients.

7. How Digital Menus Make SFDA Compliance Easy

Managing SFDA compliance across paper menus at scale is operationally expensive. A digital menu platform like Menu 1000 removes most of the friction:

8. Paper Menus vs. Digital Menus for SFDA Compliance

For chain restaurants that frequently update seasonal items, Limited Time Offers (LTOs), or test new products, paper menus create a compliance nightmare: every new item requires re-testing, redesign, and reprint before it can launch. This can delay new menu items by weeks.

Digital menus allow you to:

• Launch new items with calorie counts on the same day you add them to your Firestore database
• Schedule menu changes (breakfast / lunch / dinner transitions) that auto-apply calorie data
• Maintain a central calorie database used across all outlets — no per-location discrepancies
• Accommodate seasonal 87% of Saudi restaurant menus change at least quarterly; digital menus absorb this without cost

9. SFDA Inspections: What to Expect

SFDA conducts routine and unannounced inspections of food establishments. During an inspection, an SFDA officer may:

• Request to see all consumer-facing menus (dine-in, drive-through, digital, delivery)
• Verify that calorie counts are displayed correctly and match the actual serving size
• Check for allergen disclosures on items containing any of the 14 major allergens
• Request documentation of how nutritional values were calculated (lab reports, nutritionist certificates, or software reports)
• Review kitchen portion control procedures to verify calorie count accuracy
• Check that Arabic language requirements are met across all menu formats

10. Penalties for Non-Compliance

SFDA enforcement follows a progressive penalty structure:

• Warning Notice (Level 1): First violation — a formal written warning requiring corrective action within a specified timeframe (typically 14–30 days)
• Financial Fine (Level 2): Fines range from SAR 5,000 to SAR 50,000 depending on violation severity, establishment size, and whether it is a repeat offence
• Temporary Closure (Level 3): Issued for repeated or serious non-compliance. The establishment is sealed until corrective measures are verified by SFDA
• License Revocation (Level 4): For persistent, willful non-compliance — the operating license is revoked

SFDA publishes enforcement actions in its official gazette. Public disclosure of penalties can significantly damage a restaurant's reputation, particularly for consumer-facing chains.

11. SFDA Compliance Checklist

12. Free Downloads & Tools

13. Frequently Asked Questions