Egypt Food Regulations

The core objective of Egypt's food regulatory system is to establish a unified, risk-based regulatory framework. Since the establishment of the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA) in 2017, regulatory functions previously dispersed across multiple government bodies have been consolidated. Egypt enforces stringent market access requirements for imported foods, including mandatory registration of foreign manufacturers for certain product categories (Decree No. 43/2016), Halal certification, and pre-shipment inspection. All imported foods must comply with Egyptian Standards (ES) and are subject to mandatory Arabic labeling.

Part 1 Competent Authority

• National Food Safety Authority (NFSA):

Traditionally, Egypt's food safety was regulated by over 15 separate government entities, resulting in regulatory overlaps and gaps in consumer protection. This changed on January 2, 2017, when the Egyptian Parliament enacted Law No. 1 of 2017. The law established the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA), centralizing and unifying the regulatory framework for food supervision across the country.

The NFSA's primary mission is to safeguard consumer health by ensuring that all food products, whether produced, marketed, distributed, or consumed within Egypt, adhere to the highest safety and hygiene standards. To achieve this, the agency oversees the entire supply chain, regulating domestic production as well as imports and exports through a comprehensive system of inspections, licensing, and certification.

• Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS):

The EOS is the primary authority responsible for establishing national standards across all sectors, including food. As Egypt's representative in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the EOS ensures its food standards are harmonized with the global Codex Alimentarius system.

Notably, these standards only transition into legally binding compliance obligations when they are explicitly mandated by the NFSA or incorporated into a Ministerial Decree. In short, the EOS provides the technical framework, while the NFSA or the Ministry provides the legal enforcement.

• General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC):

The GOEIC is responsible for the administrative oversight of Egypt's import/export control, including trade-related registration, documentary review, and the verification of imported and exported goods through on-site inspections and laboratory testing.

At ports of entry, GOEIC supports customs clearance procedures by conducting conformity checks and coordinating inspection activities in accordance with applicable regulations.

Part 2 Main Regulations

• Primary Framework Law: Law No.1 of 2017 Establishing the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA).

This law clearly defines NFSA's regulatory mandate across the entire food supply chain, from production and processing to import/export, distribution, and sale, and authorizes NFSA to set standards, conduct risk assessments, oversee labeling, and implement emergency measures.

• Implementing Regulations: Prime Minister Resolution No. 412 of 2019 Promulgating the Executive Regulation of Law No.1 of 2017 Establishing the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA).

As supporting administrative legislation, this regulation specifies NFSA's enforcement procedures in detail, including licensing and approval of food establishments, product registration requirements, management of food additives, detailed labeling rules, and penalty mechanisms for non-compliance.

In accordance with its mandate under the Law No. 1 of 2017, the NFSA has promulgated a comprehensive series of regulatory decisions to govern various aspects of the food industry. The following rules constitute the core standards for market entry and operation in Egypt:

• Import: Resolution of the National Food Safety Authority No.6 of 2020 Regarding the Rules Governing the Licensing of Food Import

• Food additive: Decision 4/2020 Regarding Food Additives Accepted for Use by Industry

• Contaminants: NFSA Board Decision No. 6/2022 — Binding Technical Rule on Permissible Limits of Chemical Contaminants in Food

• Pesticide Residues: NFSA Board Decision No. 6/2021 — Technical Rules for Pesticide MRLs in Food Products of Plant and Animal Origin

• labeling requirement: Labeling Requirements For Prepackages

• Food traceability: Decision No. 16/2022 Food Traceability Requirements

• Others: FAOLEX Database

Furthermore, the EOS library comprises over 8,500 standards, which are fee-based and must be officially acquired from the organization. While most specifications serve as optional guidelines, approximately 15% are mandated by law and constitute binding compliance requirements for businesses. A prime example of this is the aforementioned labeling requirement.

Part 3 Market Access Approval

Imported foods must complete a series of market access and compliance procedures before entering the Egyptian market, primarily involving import licensing, conformity assessment, regulatory testing and inspection, and customs clearance.

3.1 Food Importer License

Since 2020, Egypt has implemented Resolution of the National Food Safety Authority No.6 of 2020 Regarding the Rules Governing the Licensing of Food Import, which requires all entities engaged in food imports to obtain a food import license issued by the NFSA before conducting import activities. Food imports without such authorization are prohibited and may result in cargo detention or administrative penalties.

Required documents:

• Importer register, investment certificate, requirement card, and industrial register;

• Commercial register;

• Payment receipts;

• Tax card;

• National id card of the applicant;

• Authorization or power of attorney in the event that the application is submitted by someone other than the person concerned;

• Importer data application (to be filled out by the person concerned or the official representative).

Besides, the NFSA established a White List of qualified food importers among those licensed to import. Approved entities are eligible for facilitated customs protocols, leading to shorter hold times and reduced sampling frequencies for imported food consignments.

To register in the White List of food importers, importers must submit the following documents for evaluation:

• A food importer's license issued by NFSA;

• A statement indicating the application of a quality system that includes accurate recording of imported consignments as well as withdrawal, recall and traceability system adopted by the company. (mock traceability and recall);

• A warehouse license issued by NFSA, or a contract with a warehouse licensed by the NFSA;

• A statement indicating the application of food safety requirements in respect of good storage practices, transportation and distribution of consignments;

• A statement indicating NFSA registration or approval of the factory/warehouse;

• A record of all foreign suppliers dealt with, in addition to the items received from each supplier;

• A statement indicating that the foreign supplier meets food safety requirements for imported food, i.e. the approval of the competent authority in the country of origin, and a certificate of food safety systems obtained by the supplier;

• Records of all complaints, investigations, the results of the investigation, appropriate corrective actions taken quickly and effectively based on the severity of risks and frequency of the identified problems.

3.2 Facility Registration

The Decree 43 (2016) requires that exporters of specific retail products register with the GOEIC prior to shipment. This measure only applies to a specific list of products packaged for the retail market. Read the details in here.

3.3 Certificate of Conformity for Food

NFSA implements the PSI (Pre-Shipment Inspection) scheme to strengthen Egypt's food control system. A certificate from an authorized third-party inspector counts as an official 'Export Validity Certificate' and meets all NFSA requirements.

Products requiring a CoI:

• Dairy products (apart from baby milk) prepared for retail in packs for direct consumption that do not exceed 2 kg;

• Preserved and dried fruits prepared for retail in packs for direct consumption that do not exceed 2 kg;

• Oils and fats prepared for retail in packs for direct consumption that do not exceed 2 kg;

• Sugar products;

• Chocolate and food processors that contain cocoa prepared for retail in packs for direct consumption that do not exceed 2 kg;

• Fruit juices prepared for retail in packs for direct consumption that do not exceed 10 kg;

• Natural, mineral, and carbonated water;

• Wheat;

• Food contact substances;

Notably, a Halal Certificate is no longer required to obtain an NFSA Certificate of Inspection (CoI), even for meat and poultry. However, since Egyptian Customs may still require it for port clearance, exporters should verify specific documentation needs with their buyers before shipment.

3.4 Advanced Cargo Information (ACI)

ACI is Egypt's digital customs system. It requires all shipping documents to be uploaded online via the Nafeza portal at least 48 hours before the ship departs. The goal is to make customs faster and paperless.

According to officials, the proposed customs process will be as follows:

• Importers input shipment data into the new ACI customs system;

• The Customs authority issues shipment identification numbers (ACID) within 48 hours;

• Customs authority notifies importers and exporters of the ACID;

• Exporters electronically transmit shipment documentation and data, ensuring ACID is referred to on all documentation;

• Importer certifies and acknowledges the correctness of the data sent by the exporter;

• Vessel is loaded with shipment and departs the exporting country;

• Importers pay import taxes and fees;

• Vessel arrives at Egyptian port and shipment is offloaded;

• Joint committee at Egyptian port inspects shipment;

• Egyptian customs clear the shipment;

Part 4 Product Standards

Products must comply with food safety standards set by NFSA or the national standards issued by the EOS. In the absence of specific Egyptian standards, international standards, such as Codex Alimentarius, are generally used as a reference.

• General Principles of Food Hygiene for Establishmentof Food Products

• Vegetable Edible Oils Part 1: Sesame Seed Oil

• Vegetable Edible Oils Part 2: Olive Oils and Olive Pomace Oils

• Vegetable Edible Oils Part 3: Maize Oil

• Vegetable Edible Oils Part 4: Edible Linseed Oil

• Vegetable Edible Oils Part 5: Arachis Oil

• Vegetable Edible Oils Part 6: Soya Bean Oil

• Vegetable Edible Oils Part 7: Sunflowerseed Oil

• Vegetable Edible Oils Part 8: Cottonseed Oil

• Milk and Milk Products Part 1: Raw Milk

• Milk And Its Products Part 2: Cream And Prepared Creams

• Milk And Dairy Products Part: 5 Natural Butter

• Milk And Dairy Products Part: 7 Cow's Milk Fat Products

• Milk And Milk Products Part: 8 Local - Natural Buffalo Butterfat

• Milk And Water Ice (Ice Cream) Part: 1 Milk Ice

• Milk And Water Ice (Ices Cream) Part: 2 Water Ices

• Milk And Water Ices (Ice Cream) Part: 3 Vegetable Fat Ice Cream

• Pasteurized Milk

• Sterilized And/Or UHT Milk

• Sterilized Flavored Sweetened Milk

• Blend of Skimmed Milk And Vegetable Fat In Powdered Form

• Fermented Milks

• Milk Powder And Cream Powder

• Evaporated Milks

• Sweetened Condensed Milk

• Methods of Testing and Examination of Meat and Meat Products Part: 1 Sampling

• Frozen Meat

• Minced Meat Mixed with Soya Bean Protein

• Products of Poultry Meat Treated With Heat

• Luncheon Meat

• Alcoholic Beverages Part 1: Wines

• Alcoholic Beverages Part 2: Beer and Flavored Beer

• Alcoholic Beverages Part 3: Distilled Alcoholic Beverages

• Alcoholic Beverages Part: 4 Other Fermented Alcoholic Beverages Exepet Beer and Wine

• Carbonated Beverages Part 1: General

• Non Alcoholic Barley Drink

• Cocoa and Its Products Part: 3 Chocolate

• Bottled Drinking Mineral Water

• General Standard for Bottled/ Packaged Drinking Waters (Other Than Natural Mineral Waters)

• Foods for Special Dietary Used Low Energy Dirnks

• Processed Cereal- Based Foods for Infants and Children

• Vegetable Protein Products ( VPP )

• Snacks 

• Instant Noodles

• ...

4.1 Special Dietary Foods

NFSA requires product registration for Special Dietary Foods, which includes infant & baby foods, foods for special medical purposes (FSMP), low/high-energy diets, low-sodium foods, foods containing stimulant, fortifying, and appetizing substances, food supplements, etc.

NFSA Registration Quick Guide:

• Submission: applications can be submitted via paper, the NFSA website, or email;

• Timeline: maximum 60 days from full document receipt;

• Validity: licenses are valid for 5 years, provided all specifications are maintained;

• Registration by notification: this fast-track option is available for products registered in a country of origin that holds a certificate of free sale and maintains a food safety management system (FSMS) equivalent to Egypt's.

4.2 Halal product

Halal certification is mandatory for imports of meat and poultry products. Currently, ISEGHALAL (IS EG Halal) is the sole official Egyptian entity responsible for granting halal label certification for foreign products.

To obtain Halal certification:

1. Slaughterhouses and factories/facilities can register through the IS EG Halal website (www.iseghalal.com) after filling up the application form and uploading the required documents necessary for registration. The registration process with IS EG HALAL is estimated to take from three to seven working days.

2. IS EG Halal reviews the uploaded documents. If the documents are complete, they are transferred to the technical and religious officials of the company to review and evaluate the documents, and then a date is set for the audit visit to the facility.

3. The audit visit is to ensure that the facility carries out its process according to Islamic Sharia (law) with respect to Halal, as well as to review all technical procedures applied by the slaughterhouses and the facilities /factories.

4. After completing the registration process, IS EG Halal Company sends a supervisor from the company to supervise the production process until shipping in order to ensure the conformity of the production process audit report with the shipments documents.

5. The certificates certifying the product as halal will be issued accordingly.

Part 5 Food Ingredients, Additives, and Contaminants

5.1 Food ingredient

In Egypt, compliance requirements for most ingredients are not managed through a single, horizontal ingredient list, but are primarily embedded in product-specific regulations and standards. An important exception is food additives and other higher-risk categories, which are subject to more stand-alone, list-based regulatory control.

5.2 Food Additive

NFSA Decision 4/2020 Regarding Food Additives Accepted for Use by Industry serves as the primary regulatory framework governing the use of food additives in Egypt. This regulation establishes a "Positive List" system, meaning only additives explicitly listed within the decree are authorized for use in food products. Each authorized additive is strictly regulated based on specific food categories, its corresponding Maximum Level (ML), or adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Any additive not included in this official registry is, in principle, prohibited from the Egyptian market.

Contents of the Decision 4/2020:

• Food category and food category descriptors

• Authorized food additives and maximum usage levels

• Food additives are used according to GMP

• Prohibited and conditional use restrictions

  Compliance oversight is integrated into the pre-import and clearance stages. During the import licensing and document review phase, the NFSA review product formulations and ingredient labels to ensure all additives fall within authorized categories and prescribed limits.

Within this regulatory framework, Decision No. 4/2020 provides detailed substantive requirements for specific categories of food additives. In particular, Decision 4/2020 specifies approved food colorings and their concentration levels. Egyptian authorities strictly prohibit products containing unauthorized color, regardless of their acceptance in other jurisdictions. Consequently, exporters are recommended to check with NFSA to verify the acceptability of any food coloring.

Table 1 : Egypt's approved food coloring:

Furthermore, all preservatives must be clearly identified, with their maximum concentrations expressed as a percentage calculated on an acid basis. Regarding flavorings, Egypt currently approves all substances accepted under the Codex Alimentarius standards.

5.3 Contaminants

Egypt regulates contaminants under the NFSA Board Decision No. 6/2022 — Binding Technical Rule on Permissible Limits of Chemical Contaminants in Food, contains 12 articles and five annexes that categorize food groups, chemical containments, MRLs of chemical containments in foods and methods for their testing and detection.

Regarding the Aflatoxi, Egypt follows the European Union maximum residue limits for total aflatoxins and aflatoxin B1 as set by European Commission Regulation 1881 (2006).

Part 6 Labeling

In accordance with the Labeling Requirements For Prepackages, information must be translated into Arabic, and the height of the Arabic font on the main display surface shall not be less than 3mm. Labels may be printed directly on the packaging or applied as permanent adhesive stickers.

6.1 Mandatory labeling:

Mandatory labeling items for most prepackaged foods are:

• Product name;

• Name and address of the producer and importer;

• Country of origin;

• Ingredient list;

• Net weight;

• Production & expiration dates;

• Storage condition;

6.2 Special Dietary Foods:

Prepackaged Foods for Special Dietary Uses (FSDU) must include the following information on the label:

• The name of FSDU;

• A list of ingredients in descending or ascending order;

• Ingredients, additives, and foods that may cause food allergies;

• Authorized food additives, and flavorings except for processing aids;

• Net weight or size;

• Names and addresses;

• Country of origin;

• Production batch/lot;

• Expiration date;

• Product-specific storage instructions;

• Nutritional data/facts.

  Notably, the nutritional facts must be declared as follows:

1. Nutritional values must be declared numerically. However, the use of additional means of presentation may also be used. Energy values must be expressed in Kilocalories (kcal) or Kilojoules (kJ). All nutrients, including energy, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, must be measured per 100g or 100ml of the product, as well as per the suggested serving size.

2. Vitamins and essential minerals should be reported in metric units. When appropriate, nutrient quantities can also be stated as a percentage of internationally recognized Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA).

3. For certain food categories, information regarding osmolality, osmolarity, or acid-base balance must be provided. Furthermore, the specific nature of any proteins used, whether animal, plant-based, or protein hydrolysates, must be explicitly declared to ensure full transparency.

   For Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP), the labeling must feature a mandatory cautionary statement: "USE UNDER MEDICAL SUPERVISION." This declaration is required to be in Arabic only and must be featured prominently in a conspicuous area of the packaging to guarantee maximum legibility. Additionally, comprehensive food preparation directions, including a clear list of any supplementary ingredients that must be added before use, shall be explicitly declared on the label.

6.3 Halal Labeling:

• Halal certified products must be labeled with a statement indicating that the product has been slaughtered in accordance with Islamic principles.

• Fresh/frozen unprocessed product with the "Halal" label must be accompanied by the corresponding halal certificate

• Raw materials used in processed products with "Halal" label claims must be accompanied by an appropriate Halal certificate.