Dubai food label grading system launches A-to-E nutrition checks
By Catherine Smith GST 2 min read
Dubai Central Laboratory has introduced a Dubai food label grading system that assigns an A-to-E rating to food products based on the accuracy of their nutritional data, giving shoppers a fast read of a label’s reliability at the point of purchase.
The service runs laboratory tests on food products and scores each one on a graded classification. An A rating signals high accuracy in the stated nutritional information; an E signals the opposite. Manufacturers and suppliers can request testing before a product goes to market or after it is already on shelves.
How the food label grading system works
Dubai Central Laboratory sits within Dubai Municipality and was established in 1997 to centralise the emirate’s laboratory services under one department. Its certification services are accredited to ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996, covering operations in 37 countries worldwide.
The grading service is aimed at two groups. For companies, it gives an independent check that the nutritional figures printed on packaging match what the product actually contains, supporting compliance with regulators and building credibility with buyers. For consumers, it replaces the need to parse dense nutritional tables: a single letter grade allows quick comparison between competing products.
The authority has not set a mandatory rollout date for the label in the current announcement. Companies that want validation can engage the laboratory service directly through Dubai Municipality.
School food standards already tightened
The label service is part of a broader effort by Dubai Municipality to raise nutritional standards across the emirate. In 2025, the municipality published its Guidelines and Requirements for Food and Nutrition in Schools in Dubai, which sets binding requirements for meals served in educational institutions.
Under those guidelines, each school meal must meet minimum calorie thresholds and stay within maximum limits, which vary by age group. Portion sizes are controlled according to tables set out in the guidelines’ appendix. Institutions must reduce added sugars, increase fibre content, promote water over other beverages, and plan menus around locally sourced ingredients where possible.
Serving tea and coffee in schools is also regulated under the same guidelines, and institutions are required to demonstrate efforts to reduce food waste.
Dubai Municipality’s Food Safety Department monitors compliance in schools as part of its public health programme. The department runs monitoring activity specifically aligned to each academic year, checking that meal provision meets the nutritional and food safety requirements the municipality has issued.
The food safety monitoring is coordinated with Dubai’s wider nutritional guidelines rather than operating as a separate inspection track, according to Dubai Municipality.
What it means for food businesses
For food manufacturers and distributors operating in Dubai, the A-to-E laboratory service provides a route to demonstrate label accuracy before a product is challenged by regulators. Companies that receive a high grade can use the classification as evidence of compliance; those that score poorly gain a documented basis for correcting their labelling before distribution.
Dubai Municipality has not stated whether the A-to-E grading will become a mandatory requirement for all products sold in the emirate or whether it will remain a voluntary certification. That distinction will determine how far the label reaches across supermarket shelves.
The municipality’s food trader and establishment guidance portal carries the current requirements for businesses operating in Dubai’s food sector.
