2005
There are several competent authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia responsible for food control and safety, namely: i) the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) responsible for setting and issuing food standards; ii) the Ministry of Commerce and Industry responsible for examining and analyzing imported food products, excluding living animals and fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as some animal products which are examined and analyzed by the Ministry of Agriculture; iii) the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs responsible for controlling products in markets, restaurants, hotels, and local plants, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; iv) ten control and analysis laboratories with eleven branches related to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry are responsible for examining and analyzing imported food products introduced into the Kingdom by land, air, and sea. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture has animal and agricultural quarantine facilities located in these customs access points and undertaking the same functions for imported food products; v) a Standing Committee has been established to monitor food safety in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, Health, Municipal and Rural Affairs, Finance (Customs Department), and SASO; vi) A royal decree was issued recently stipulating the creation of a Drug and Food Administration to supervise all food and drug entities and work is underway for its establishment.
Consumer participation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is facilitated by the following means: i) Industrial chambers of commerce in Saudi Arabia , through consumer protection committees present in most of them. The industrial chambers of commerce participate along with the technical and general committees and the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) board of directors in the food standards setting process, therefore enabling consumer participation; ii) Most government entities have directorates responsible for consumer protection which participate in the food standards setting process through SASO; iii) A project is underway to establish a national consumer protection commission.
Information last updated - January 2007