Saudi Arabia - Export requirements for meat and poultry products

1. Eligible/ineligible products

Eligible products

Beef: meat and meat products and offal derived from cattle of all ages produced after October 16, 2024 are eligible for export to Saudi Arabia; meat and meat products and offal derived from UTM cattle produced before as well as after October 16, 2024 are eligible for export to Saudi Arabia.
Sheep: meat and meat products and offal derived from sheep of all ages produced after October 16, 2024.

Ineligible products

Pork, pork fat or pork products and any percentage of pork mixed with other meat product are not permitted.

2. Pre-export approvals by competent authority of importing country

Only meat produced in establishments approved by Saudi Arabia is eligible for export.

Refer to Annex 1 for the list of approved establishments
Operators interested in obtaining approval for an establishment should submit an application as per usual procedures. The approval process may require an on-site visit by Saudi officials. The trade parties will be responsible for making the necessary arrangements, when applicable.
Additional information for registration of establishments and exporters is available at the following link: Process for Approving Foreign Competent Control Authorities and Establishments | Saudi Food and Drug Authority (sfda.gov.sa)
Approved establishments are subject to inspection by Saudi Arabia officials. Trade parties are responsible for making arrangements when such inspections are requested by the Saudi authorities.

3. Products specifications, production controls and inspection requirements

Bovine and ovine meat and meat products including offal

To comply with the GSO standard 1016/2015 for microbiological criteria in meat and meat products, the operator must meet requirements of Annex T-1 and Annex U of the US section as well as perform additional microbiological tests for any product produced as of October 16, 2024.

The operator must develop, implement, and maintain a written program for the additional microbiological testing, acceptable to the CFIA, and must include the elements outlined below.

Samples from first two consecutive shipments of each type for each species destined to the KSA will be tested.

Table 1. Additional microbiological tests to be performed and standards to be met for export of meat and meat products to the KSA
Item / Type	Microorganisms	Limit per gram or cm2
Item / Type	Microorganisms	n ^{Table Note a}	c ^{Table Note b}	m ^{Table Note c}	M ^{Table Note d}
Raw meat (chilled/frozen); whole or half carcasses; pieces; with or without bones	– Aerobic plate count	5	2	10⁵	10⁶
Raw minced (meat); chilled/frozen	– Aerobic plate count	5	2	5x10⁵	5x10⁶
Raw minced (meat); chilled/frozen	– Staphylococcus aureus	5	2	10²	10³
Raw processed meat	– Aerobic plate count	5	3	10⁶	10⁷
	– Staphylococcus aureus	5	2	5x10²	10³
	– Clostridium perfringens	5	2	10²	10³
Raw edible offal (chilled/frozen) e.g. liver testes, kidney, gizzard	– Aerobic plate count	5	2	10⁵	10⁶

Table Notes

Table note a

n = number of samples to be examined

Return to table note a referrer

Table note b

c = the maximum number of sample units allowed to have a microbiological criterion greater than "m" and not to exceed the value of "M"

Return to table note b referrer

Table note c

m = the acceptable microbial level in the sample unit; which separates the acceptable quality of marginal-quality acceptance. The product will be acceptable if the value is equal to or less than "m"; if the value is above "m", the product is marginally acceptable or rejected.

Return to table note c referrer

Table note d

M = the maximum criterion value that should not be exceeded in any of the "n" units

Sample unit – a sample from the food product examined as one unit from "n". It is either a single or a part of a package or a mixed compound of the product

Return to table note d referrer

The samples will be collected by a trained establishment employee.
If unsatisfactory results are received for any of the tests for any shipment, the shipment cannot be exported to the KSA. In addition, corrective actions must be put in place to meet KSA and Canadian requirements.

If both shipments have unsatisfactory results for same or different micro-organisms, samples from next 2 consecutive shipments of that type of product from the same species must be collected by the operator.
If two consecutive shipments have satisfactory results, then 2 consecutive shipments of each type from each species will be randomly sampled in the next six months.
When samples are sent to an external accredited laboratory, ensure test results are directly and simultaneously received by both CFIA and the operator.

The test results (in-house as well as external accredited lab) will be verified prior to signing the export certificate. The CFIA will use an appropriate SIP task on a yearly basis to verify compliance with KSA microbiological standards.

Frequency of testing may be reduced by the CFIA based on industry compliance.

4. Labelling, marking and packaging requirements

The shipping container must be sealed with an official seal.

5. Documentation requirements

Beef
- Annex A must be issued.
Sheep
- Annex A must be issued.

6. Other information

A certificate pertaining to ritual slaughter and halal feed is required. Trade parties are responsible for making the necessary arrangements with an Islamic Organization to obtain certification acceptable to Saudi authorities. The certificate should state: the fresh meat (chilled or frozen) originated from Canada and a slaughterhouse that is authorized to export meat to Saudi Arabia; and the source of the meat is Halal animal fed and slaughtered according to GCC Technical Regulation No. GSO 993.
The certification required should be endorsed by a Saudi Diplomatic Mission or a substitute. Trade parties are responsible for ensuring that this requirement is met to the satisfaction of the Saudi authorities.
Trade parties are responsible for ensuring that the products are labelled in accordance with applicable Saudi labelling requirements as outlined in the Saudi Arabia Standards Organization (SASO) number 9/1995 "Labels of Packed Food Commodities".
Trade parties are responsible to take appropriate measures to ensure compliance with all applicable finished products standards (for example, chilling or freezing temperatures, compositional standards, or microbiological requirements) established under various Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Standards (GS) or SASO. The following standards, should be used by the operator of approved establishments to ensure compliance: (GSO) No. 996/1998, and 1016/2015.
Operators are responsible to ensure that the most current version of applicable standards is used.
The products are subject to Saudi import controls. Trade parties are responsible for ensuring that all applicable requirements are met or to dispose of the products as deemed appropriate by Saudi competent authorities when a non-compliance is identified as a result of import inspection.

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