Saudi Arabia intends to develop guidelines for the labeling of traceability codes for foods such as infant formula milk powder

On November 8, 2022, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health issued a proposal to develop infant formula and other foods Traceability Labeling Guide. The guidelines apply to imported or domestically produced infant formula, infant formula for special medical purposes, and milk-based supplementary foods for children under 3 years of age, aiming to combat fraud in the above-mentioned food fields, strengthen traceability management in the distribution process, and quickly recall substandard food. The main contents of the draft guidelines include the category of traceability code (QR code and barcode), scanning information (including product code, digital code, batch number, shelf life, etc.), verification method, and traceability code labeling requirements (the minimum independent sales package only needs to be marked with a QR code, secondary packaging and transport packaging should be marked with both QR code and barcode, and the QR code should be marked on the main display surface of the label). The comment period for this proposal ends December 12, 2022.