Food establishments in Saudi Arabia operate under the oversight of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), and menu labelling has become one of the most visible parts of that oversight.

In an announcement published on June 18, 2025 — "SFDA to Implement New Food Rules for Transparency and Consumer Health" — the SFDA set out new requirements for restaurants and cafes, effective July 1, 2025. In addition to the existing calorie-labelling requirements, food service operations must display:

  • a saltshaker icon next to high-sodium meals,
  • the caffeine content of beverages, and
  • the estimated physical-activity time needed to burn the meal's calories.

These apply across physical menus, digital menus, and online food ordering platforms.

What this means in practice

For a traditional restaurant, much of this is a menu design exercise. For buffets and hotel dining, it is harder: dishes rotate daily, stations change during service, and printed cards fall out of date quickly. The new elements — sodium indicators, caffeine content, activity-time equivalents — raise the amount of information that has to stay correct at every point where food is offered.

Allergen disclosure follows the same logic: guests with food allergies should be able to identify, at the point of service, whether a dish contains common allergens. That depends on discipline behind the scenes — knowing the current recipe of each dish, tracking substitutions, and making sure front-of-house information reflects the kitchen's reality.

The operational thread connecting all of it is the same: labelling is only as accurate as the records behind it.

What operators can do

Operators who treat menu labelling as an extension of their food safety records — rather than a separate signage task — tend to find it more manageable. If dish compositions, allergens, and nutrition data live in one maintained system, keeping menus and station signage accurate becomes an output of daily work instead of a recurring project. The SFDA also provides supporting tools and approved technical regulations through its own channels.

This update is informational guidance, not legal advice. It cites the SFDA announcement linked above as its primary source; scope and details are defined by the authority and evolve — verify current requirements directly with SFDA and your local municipality.