2005
In Kuwait there are three governmental authorities which are concerned with food safety and control. Their responsibilities include the controlling and inspection of food products manufactured by local industries, controlling and inspecting imported raw and finished products to determine suitability and acceptability for human consumption and enforcing food standards which define quality and minimal acceptability for foods produced locally and imported.
These authorities are:
i. Standards and Metrology Department (SMD): All the food standards are based on Codex. There are 556 standards, more than 25% of them are mandatory standards.
ii. The Kuwait Municipality is responsible for insuring that the food produced or imported into the country and sold within the country is safe. It is also responsible for taking samples, inspecting factories, stores and market places for foodstuffs to ensure the satisfaction requirements.
iii. The Ministry of Health runs tests on the samples which are taken by the Municipality in the bacteriology and chemical laboratories.
Consumer protection has been established recently. Otherwise, consumers participation in food standards setting at national level in the following way: determine the needs to set standards by annual survey; draft of standards specification shall be prepared by technical panels constituted of representatives representing the producers, merchants, consumers, relevant authorities and those of having experience; draft being prepared for distribution to competent authorities and individuals for remarks thereon.
Information last updated - January 2007