Saudi Arabia: FAIRS Country Report
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The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) continues to stringently implement and approve food regulations and standards on imported food and agricultural products. In some cases, these new regulations have completely shut down U.S. exports. For instance, the ban on poultry meat produced using stunning or immobilization, which was enforced at the end of May 2018, halted U.S. poultry exports to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In August 2020, SFDA also announced the official transfer of approving and registering Halal Certification Bodies (HCB) from the Makkah based Muslim World League to its newly created Halal Center. It is currently unclear how this new halal regulation will impact U.S. exports of livestock, poultry meat and various products to Saudi Arabia. FAS Riyadh will update accordingly.