SFDA has registered the Food Product No. 100k in its electronic program for registration of imported food, which was launched 5 months ago.  H.E. The Chief Executive Officer of SFDA, Dr. Mohamed bin Abdul Rahman Almishal, clicked the “Approval Icon” for registration of product No.100K, which is expected to reach 200K by the end of this year.

This is the first time to register food products electronically via a huge program since SFDA was established-10 years ago. The program included 22 workshops to train food importers representative, customs clearance personnel on the electronic registration of food products data in order to shorten the interim to reach the Saudi market from customs points of entry, as well as opening channels between SFDA and importers in order to exchange information  about inspection & control of goods from the time of arrival until they are released or rejected, in a clear and transparent manner Saudi Arabia imports 85% of its food (raw and finished products). ‘Registration of imported food’ program will enable the Saudi consumers, through its database, to search for the products they use to recognize their nutritional properties, preservation temperature, related alerts and country of manufacture.

The program shortened food clearance procedures time from 3 days to 3 hours only. Besides, it facilitated control and monitoring procedures. The program also provides product tracking service and building many and detailed databases to show the volume of quantities available in the market as well as imported quantities.

H.E. The Chief Executive Officer of SFDA, Dr. Mohamed bin Abdul Rahman Almishal said,” The program puts a barrier against those who compromise peoples’ health by entering expired food stuff and violate food specifications”. He added,” The registration program of imported food eliminates the margin of manipulation with food specifications and enables consumers to monitor the validity of food stuff by themselves and decide if it is suitable to his body and health. The program also tightens SFDA control of imported food through the points of entry of imported food.

SFDA provides the electronic service for registration of imported food free of charge, for importers, in its endeavors to insure safety and quality of imported food from the date of  production until it reaches the end users.