Food manufacturers and importers across the UAE are facing a new regulatory deadline: sodium, sugar and fat levels in packaged products must fall within set limits by the end of 2030, under a phased rollout designed to give the industry time to reformulate.
Dr Ahmed Al Khazraji, Executive Director of Healthy Living at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said the goal is to improve the nutritional profile of products people already buy and enjoy, rather than banning favourites outright.
Medical professionals have welcomed the move. Dr Safa Hegazin, a physician at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi's Digestive Disease Institute, said healthier choices should not require extra effort from consumers, and policies that quietly adjust what's on supermarket shelves do exactly that. Clinical dietitian Heenana Mustaheena, of LLH Hospital in Mussafah, and Dr Leila Kay Karimpoor, a consultant in internal medicine at Burjeel Medical City, were also cited as supporters of the phased caps.
Industry has already started adjusting. Al Ain Farms Group said it has cut added sugar by 10 to 20 per cent in a number of its juices and dairy products, while United Foods Company and Arla are reformulating recipes to meet the new thresholds ahead of enforcement.
Officials say the staggered timeline through 2030 is meant to avoid sudden price shocks or shortages while still pushing the packaged food sector toward healthier standards. Public health advocates expect the change to contribute, over time, to lower rates of diet-related conditions such as diabetes and hypertension in the UAE, where processed food consumption has risen sharply over the past decade.