The UAE has recently announced that it will introduce colour-coded nutritional labelling system for certain food items, a move which is part of plans drawn up by the federal cabinet to improve health standards.

“The market for healthy food products in the UAE is growing at a rapid pace. Consumers throughout the world are demonstrating their interest in natural, healthier, high quality and safely produced food and beverages through their current purchasing decisions and the UAE is no exception,” said Priyanka Mittal, director at India’s KRBL Ltd, a global basmati rice company.

“The recent announcement by the UAE Government on introduction of colour-coded nutritional labelling on Food items marks a significant development in the UAE's F&B sector.

“This move empowers the consumers in making an informed choice and getting the right balance of food in their daily diets. It will make possible to effectively educate the consumers on the nutritional quality of food products, as well as enable them to visually decide with ease during their supermarket visits. It will build on other ongoing efforts in the country to create healthy food environments.

“Furthermore, the Middle East health and wellness has forecast a 7 per cent growth over the next 5 years compared to a 3 per cent growth globally which makes the UAE an interesting market to further expand our product lines as well as to cater to the growth and demand for healthy foods. Following this initiative by the UAE Government, we hope to notice a rise in demand in the healthy food products category,” she added. - TradeArabia News Service