On December 3, 2024, the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia issued six proposals to develop six food standards, as follows:

(1) 4 product standards (Product Standard for Smoked Fish, Product Standard for Salted Fish, Product Standard for Salsa, and Product Standard for Cured, Boiled or Dried Anchovies), which include:

- Definitions and terminology;

- Product categorization;

- Requirements for the use of raw and auxiliary materials and food additives (e.g. the salt content of salted fish products should be between 10-14%, the histamine content should not be more than 20mg/100g, the histamine content of smoked fish should not be more than 10mg/100g, and the moisture activity of dried smoked fish products should not be more than 0.85, etc.);

- Sampling and testing and analyzing methods;

- Packaging, transportation and storage requirements;

- Labeling requirements (e.g., salad dressing products should be labeled on the label with the classification name specified in the standard, etc.), etc;

(2) 2 hygiene standards for food production process, specifically the standards for the production, processing and distribution of low-acid foods, and the standards for hygiene requirements for food enterprises and their employees, etc. The above draft standards are open for comments until January 3, 2025.

For more details, see: https://istitlaa.ncc.gov.sa/ar/health/Pages/default.aspx