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30 January 2023

09 Rajab 1444

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Law No. 8 of 1990 Regulation of Human Food Control

Law Summary Record Type: LawNumber: 8Date: 17/05/1990 Corresponding to 22/10/1410 HijriNumber of Articles: 35Status: In force

Official Gazette :Issue: 9Offcial Journal Issue Publication Date: 01/01/1990 Corresponding to 04/06/1410 HijriPage from: 3078

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Regulation of Food Control &its Circulation

9 Article

The specifications and requirements set out in this Law and its implementing resolutions shall exist in all food trading locations, and for food containers, and packaging, means of food transport, and to those persons employed in any food trading operation.

10 Article - Amended

1. No natural or juristic person may be permitted to import any food material for the purpose of sale or trading in Qatar unless their name is recorded in the importers register in the Ministry of Economy and Commerce according to the law.

Except for food which is imported or transported from the adjacent states and which arrives on the same day as that on which it is transported, or on the next day at the latest, any person who imports or transports, from abroad by sea, any food for the purpose of sale or circulation in Qatar, is obliged to notify the Ministry of Public Health well in advance prior to the arrival of such food. The notification shall be in accordance with the form set out by the Ministry for this purpose and the following documents shall be attached:

a. A manifest of the imported food;

b. A letter of undertaking, signed by the vessel's captain, stating that the imported food was never placed, during the journey, either with or near other materials that are toxic or harmful to human health. Qatar National Navigation & Transport Co., Ltd. shall receive such letters of undertaking under agreements signed with the relevant ships providers for this purpose, and hand them over to the senders when requested;

c. A copy of an official certificate, adopted by the competent authority in the origin country, stating that imported food is permitted to be circulated locally. In all cases, specialised staff has the right to request submission of the original documents for checking.

11 Article - Amended

The Customs Department or other relevant authorities may release food imported from abroad only by permission from the Supreme Council of Health, confirming its suitability for human consumption and its conformity to specifications in addition to its compliance with the procedures prescribed in other legislation related to customs, importation and fraud in business transactions.

12 Article - Amended

For the purpose of sale or circulation in Qatar, food importers are obliged to notify the competent departments in each of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Ministry of Public Health and Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, of the food imported on their accounts within a period of not more than seven days of the date of release. Such notification shall include a description of the food type, its source, quantity, packaging, weight, specifications and the prices within which it is imported.

13 Article - Amended

Any person who trades with food or its circulation is obliged to keep regular records in which all types of food in their possession, its quantity, packaging, weight, source, date of possession, amount sold, and the date of sale are recorded along with the name of the buyer, whether a wholesaler or retailer, a permission from the Supreme Council of Health pertaining to food release, and all relevant documents and data. The vendor is obliged to supply the buyer, if a merchant, with a letter of undertaking declaring that the food sold complies with the provisions of this Law.

14 Article - Amended

Any person who trades in, or circulates food preserved by any method such as freezing, cooling, or vacuum packaging, is obliged to obtain, mutatis mutandis a license from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture or from a competent municipality. Licensed shop owners or managers shall not be permitted to melt down, sell, display or possess such food for the purpose of exchange against consideration as fresh food.

15 Article

Packaged food shall not be circulated unless the following data, in compressed font from inside out, is firmly fixed upon the information label of each package or unit for sale:

1. Name of packaged food item.

2. Basic data regarding ingredients, content of colouring, preservatives and other additives according to specifications, and the percentages of the said ingredients and additives. Such data shall be displayed in descending order according to the amount of the percentages.

3. Net weight.

4. Date of manufacture and expiry date. In case of food that does not expire by the lapse of a specified period, the phrase 'indefinite expiry date' shall be displayed on the package.

5. Directions for storage, if storage must follow specific requirements.

6. Data explaining the proper methods of use, where necessary.

7. Country of origin and country of source. A separate declaration shall be made for each, even if the country of source is the same as the country of origin. This requirement shall be waived in cases where a food item or material is manufactured in a country other than the country of origin on behalf of the producer and only the mention of the country of origin would suffice. Such an item shall be accompanied by a certificate of approval containing the eligibility of the manufacturer to use the trademark and the commercial name of the factory.

8. Factory name, manufacturer and its trademark, or either.

9. The party that carried out the packaging and the date. If the packager is not the original manufacturer, the name of the packager as well as the production date shall be displayed alongside the name of the original manufacturer.

10. The word 'sterile' shall be written where appropriate.

11. The word 'natural' or 'artificial' or the mixing ratio between them shall be written according to the nature of the food item.

Small packages must display the same data as that which appears on large packages or on boxes and containers within which the packages arrive. Care must be taken when a food material is packaged or refilled.

16 Article

Except for the selling price to the consumer, the remaining data set out in Article 15 shall, for imported food, be furnished with the knowledge of the foreign food manufacturer or producer before it enters the country. For food produced locally, such data shall be furnished prior to its circulation or export abroad. The Customs Department may not release imported or exported food prior to verifying that the aforesaid data complies with the provisions of this Law, and ensuring that the expiry date is not later than six months after its release date.

17 Article

The data set out in Article 15 of this Law, and any other data, specifications or requirements required by the legislation in force, shall be recorded on cans/boxes, covers, packages or units of sale, along with a translation intoone foreign language or more, provided that all data are written in clear, non‐erasable writing. The data written in Arabic should be of larger and clearer font. For food imported from non‐Arab countries, the data should be written in the associated foreign language along with a clear Arabic translation.

18 Article - Amended

Importers, wholesalers and retailers of food items shall be granted a three‐month grace period from the date on which this Law comes into force to regulate their status accordingly and to dispose of food that does not reflect the data set out in accordance with the provisions of this Law, provided that the food is suitable for human consumption. Taking into consideration the provisions of the preceding Article, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture may issue a decision to extend the aforesaid period for one time for a similar period. The said decision shall not be effective prior to being adopted by the Council of Ministers.

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