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UAE starts phased salt, sugar and fat caps on bread, dairy drinks and snacks, with final limits due by end-2030
The Ministry of Health and Prevention said on 6 October it has begun implementing a resolution that caps sodium, sugar and fat in selected packaged foods. Bread, sweetened dairy drinks and salty snacks must meet first-phase limits within nine months, and firms that would need cuts of more than 20% have 30 days to ask for an exception.
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has started implementing a federal resolution that sets maximum levels of sodium, sugar and fat in selected food products, according to a ministry statement carried by the state news agency WAM on 6 October. The rules apply to packaged foods made in the UAE or imported, and to every business that handles them, free-zone companies included. Products made or imported only for re-export are excluded unless they are sold inside the country.
The caps are set per 100 grams and come in two phases. Sodium in leavened bread starts at 444mg and falls to 370mg; flat bread goes from 384mg to 320mg, with matching ceilings on sugar and fat. Total sugar in sweetened milk drinks, including milk alternatives, moves from 9.6g to 8g, and in flavoured yoghurt and laban from 12g to 10g. Salted crackers, nuts and seeds, pretzels and chips get lower sodium limits. Processed cheese forms a second group with its own sodium caps.
The timetable matters for producers and importers. Bread, dairy drinks and snacks must meet first-phase limits within nine months of the resolution taking effect; processed cheese has two years and three months. Everything must reach the final limits by 31 December 2030. Existing stock can stay on shelves for up to a year, or until it expires. A business that would have to cut an ingredient by more than 20% can apply to MoHAP for a first-phase exception within 30 days of the effective date, with accredited lab results and a commitment to cut by at least 20%. The statement did not give the exact effective date.
Penalties range from a warning to fines of AED 5,000 to AED 500,000, closure for up to six months, or loss of licence, the ministry said.
Why it matters: bread, laban and flavoured milk are everyday staples on family tables across the UAE. For food companies, the 30-day exception window is the first deadline to act on, and reformulation work for the nine-month target has to start now.
Sources: MoHAP statement via WAM and Zawya, 6 Oct 2026; The National, 6 Oct 2026.
Watch next: confirmation of the effective date, the Cabinet's list of violations and penalties, and whether other GCC states adopt similar caps.