UAE food caps: read the category, the units and the phase

MoHAP said on 6 October that implementation has begun for ingredient caps in selected packaged foods. The framework uses category-specific limits per 100 grams, with two phases and final limits due by 31 December 2030.

Start with the category. The announcement gives different figures for leavened bread, flatbread, sweetened dairy drinks, salty snacks and processed cheese. A number taken from one category is not a universal rule for the whole supermarket.

Then check the units. Leavened bread’s sodium ceiling is 444 milligrams per 100 grams in the first phase and 370 milligrams in the final phase. Those are sodium figures, not grams of salt, and not a daily allowance. A per-serving number cannot be compared directly with a per-100-gram number unless the serving size is also accounted for.

Keep the phase beside the number. The release links first-phase deadlines to the resolution’s effective date but does not state that date. Its publication date therefore does not establish when the countdown began. For a specific product or compliance question, check the applicable official text rather than calculating a deadline from a news headline.

A useful reading habit is to write down four things together: product category, ingredient, measurement basis and phase. If one is missing, pause before making a comparison. The largest number on the packet is not always the most informative one.

Cover: an original AI-generated conceptual food-testing pavilion. It is an editorial illustration, not a photograph of a MoHAP facility, a particular product or an inspection.