To deliver Essential Food Safety Training (EFST) in Abu Dhabi, a training provider must pass three ADAFSA approvals in order: registration of the provider, approval of each trainer and approval of its training materials. The rules are set out in ADAFSA's EFST Program and Certification Requirements, document ADAFSA-EFST-CS-01, Issue 02, dated 2 March 2023.
This guide is for training centres and food businesses that want to deliver EFST, and for the managers who keep that approval in place.
Who must take EFST, and who may deliver it?
ADAFSA's EFST page says the programme requires all food handlers operating in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to gain basic food safety knowledge. Issue 02 defines food handlers widely, covering anyone who prepares, cooks, packs, stores, transports, sells or serves food, plus food business operators, managers and supervisors. EFST has been mandatory since August 2008 and now rests on Abu Dhabi Law 2 of 2008 on food and Resolution 6 of 2020.
The scale is set out in a 16 March 2026 statement from the Abu Dhabi Media Office. It reports 39,000 trainees in 2025 and nearly 300,000 since 2008. Training ran through more than 10 training centres and two examination centres, in Arabic, English, Hindi, Urdu and Malayalam.
Issue 02 allows two kinds of provider. The first is a commercial training company. The second is a food business with its own training department, called an equivalency company, which trains only its own staff. Training is delivered by the provider, but the examination is held separately at an ADAFSA-approved test centre.
ADAFSA's website could not be reached when this guide was checked. The details below come from the copy of Issue 02 that ADAFSA's EFST page linked in April 2025. Confirm with ADAFSA's EFST team that it is still the current issue before you apply.
What does ADAFSA check at each approval stage?
A provider may not run a single EFST course until all three stages are complete. The table summarises what Issue 02 asks for. The last column is AGS's interpretation of the records worth keeping, not ADAFSA's wording.
| Stage | What you submit | ADAFSA response | Records to keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Provider registration (training company) | Abu Dhabi trade licence with a food safety training activity, ACTVET licence, ACTVET inspection result of at least 80% (4 stars) | Added to ADAFSA's electronic system once approved | Licence copies with expiry dates, latest ACTVET inspection report |
| 1. Provider registration (equivalency company) | Signed request letter, trade licence, ADAFSA no-objection certificate, company profile with structure, branches and number of food handlers to train | Status within 10 working days | Application file, training room details, headcount by branch |
| 2. Trainer approval | CV, attested qualifications with food safety subjects, a 5-day advanced food safety course or a Level 4 food safety qualification, and a train-the-trainer course | Document result within 5 working days, then a live presentation to ADAFSA's team | Trainer file per person, approval letter, notice of joiners and leavers |
| 3. Training material approval | Training pack per curriculum and per language | Review, corrections, then written approval | Approved version, change history, submission records |
Two trainer rules catch providers out. A trainer may work for only one provider. You must also tell ADAFSA when you hire a trainer it has already approved, and when an approved trainer leaves.
What must the EFST training pack contain?
ADAFSA publishes four curricula, coded T1 to T4. They cover catering, retail, food manufacturing, and animal production limited to slaughterhouses. Your materials must follow the curriculum for each sector you teach. ADAFSA's training team gives providers a classification of food business activities, based on Abu Dhabi trade licence activities, so you can match each trainee to the right course.
Mixed businesses follow a set rule. If a site holds activities from more than one sector, the trainee takes the broader course. For example, catering plus retail means the catering course, and manufacturing plus retail means the manufacturing course.
Minimum training time, excluding breaks, is 6 hours for catering, 4 for retail, 6 for food manufacturing and 6 for animal production. Retail drops the cooking and food safety management modules. Animal production also drops chilling.
Each pack you submit needs the following:
- A detailed training plan covering timing, delivery type, content, teaching methods, materials, learning outcomes and how outcomes are assessed.
- At least one interactive group activity of 15 to 30 minutes for each part of the material, with full details.
- Presentations of no more than 30 slides in total, supplied electronically with the session plans.
- A complete pack for every language you want to teach in.
Use of ADAFSA's programme logos in slides and leaflets is restricted to approved providers. If your caterers need more than EFST, our guide to HACCP for catering companies covers the full food safety system.
How are classes, remote sessions and exams run?
A class is limited to 15 trainees. Remote delivery is allowed only as a live stream, to the same requirements as the classroom. You must invite ADAFSA's training team to every remote session so it can join and assess it.
Before training, each trainee completes a registration form with details such as age, nationality and language skills. You send this data to ADAFSA as required. After the course you issue an attendance record and give trainees written exam information, including the pass mark, approved test centres, booking steps and cost.
The trainee must sit the exam at an approved test centre within two months of the course. The pass mark is 70%. There is no limit on resits, but each one carries a fee. Providers must make suitable arrangements for people of determination, and oral exams are available on request.
Exam arrangements have moved on since 2023. The Media Office reports that ADAFSA fully automated EFST examinations through its Ghars platform in 2025. Check the current exam process with ADAFSA before you write it into your procedures.
What keeps an EFST approval in place, and what gets it suspended?
Approval is monitored continuously. Issue 02 judges providers on three things: the exam pass rate agreed with ADAFSA, averaged over three months, routine performance evaluation by ACTVET, and ADAFSA's own evaluations against the requirements. ADAFSA's team may make unannounced visits to any session. The Media Office counted 13 evaluation visits to training and examination centres in 2025.
Day to day, a provider must also:
- Send status reports on a schedule ADAFSA sets, covering attendance, absences and content issues.
- Attend programme meetings when status reports, feedback or inspections raise a problem.
- Put changes to materials or schedules through change control, agreed at a programme meeting.
- Write a corrective action plan for any nonconformity that cannot be fixed at once.
Two failures lead to immediate suspension under Issue 02. One is falling below the 80% (4-star) ACTVET rating. The other is using a trainer ADAFSA has not approved. Persistent poor performance by a trainer or a company can also end in suspension.
Licensing and inspection criteria for training centres come from ACTVET, so keep its inspection cycle in your internal audit plan. Some centres also run their training service to ISO 29993 for learning services.
How long is an EFST certificate valid?
Under Issue 02, the EFST certificate is valid for 5 years from issue. When it expires, the food handler resits the exam. A trainee who fails the resit after expiry must attend the course again.
A catering certificate can be used for any type of food business. The other three apply only to their own sector, so a retail worker who moves to a catering site needs the catering course.
Holders of a Level 5 advanced food safety qualification or equivalent can apply to ADAFSA for exemption from both training and exam. If approved, they pay 50% of the exam fee for the certificate.
How AGS can help
The Essential Food Safety Training Management System (EFST) contains 65 documents. It includes a quality manual, a scheme description and 15 procedures, from ADAFSA registration and trainer approval to remote live-stream delivery and reporting to ADAFSA. There are 12 forms, 7 registers, 7 checklists, workbooks and presentations for the four sector curricula, and training-completion certificate templates. Files are Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, with certificate templates in PDF and SVG.
Frequently asked questions
Can a restaurant or hotel train its own staff for EFST?
Yes, through the equivalency route. It needs a training department, trainers who meet ADAFSA's minimum requirements and a suitable training room, and it trains only its own food handlers.
Does the training provider issue the EFST certificate?
No. The provider issues an attendance record. The EFST certificate follows a pass of 70% or more in the exam at an approved test centre.
Can EFST be taught online?
Only as a live stream by an approved provider, with ADAFSA's team invited to each session. Recorded courses do not meet Issue 02.
What happens if a trainee fails the EFST exam?
The trainee can resit as many times as needed, paying the fee for each attempt. A trainee who fails a resit after an expired certificate must attend the course again.
AGS provides independent documentation toolkits. This guide and the referenced documents are prepared to support ADAFSA EFST requirements. They are not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority or ACTVET, and they do not guarantee approval of any training provider.
Reviewed October 2026. Facts checked against the sources current at publication.
