Halal processed food for the UAE and GCC: what GSO 2055-1:2015 requires of manufacturers

The Gulf's halal requirements for processed food sit in GSO 2055-1:2015, the Gulf Technical Regulation on halal products approved on 5 November 2015. The UAE applies it as UAE.S GSO 2055-1:2015, and under Cabinet Resolution 10 of 2014 your products and their raw materials need halal certificates from a certification body registered by MoIAT.

This guide is for quality, R&D and halal assurance managers in bakery, dairy, confectionery, snack, sauce, ready-meal and ingredient plants that sell into the Gulf.

Which halal standards apply to processed food in the UAE and GCC?

The core document is GSO 2055-1:2015, Halal Products Part 1: General Requirements. GSO classes it as a Gulf Technical Regulation, Edition 2. Its scope covers every stage of the halal food chain, from receiving and preparation to packaging, labelling, storage, transport and food service. You can see the listing on the GSO standards store.

Three other documents sit around it:

• GSO 2055-2:2021, Edition 3, approved 1 July 2021, with Amendment 1 approved 14 October 2024. It sets requirements for halal certification bodies, not for factories. A manufacturer is never certified to it.
• GSO 993:2015, the Gulf regulation on animal slaughter according to Islamic rules. It matters to you through any meat, poultry or gelatine you buy in.
• Gulf labelling and hygiene rules. MoIAT lists UAE.S GSO 9 on prepackaged food labelling and UAE.S GSO 21 on food plant hygiene among its halal-related standards.

MoIAT's list of halal standards has no separate "halal assurance system" standard for processed foods. The halal assurance system is the documented system you build to meet GSO 2055-1 and to show your certification body that it works every day, not only on audit day.

How does halal certification work for a UAE-bound factory?

MoIAT runs the UAE halal system. Under Cabinet Resolution 10 of 2014, an establishment must hold halal certificates for its final products and for the raw materials used in them. Those certificates must come from halal certification bodies registered by the ministry. MoIAT explains this on its UAE Halal System page.

Registration rests on accreditation. MoIAT's accreditation scopes for halal certification bodies cite UAE.S 2055-2:2021 for the body itself. Food manufacturing activities are then listed by category against UAE.S GSO 2055-1:2015.

The categories run from perishable animal products (CI) to ambient stable products such as biscuits, snacks, pasta and beverages (CIV). Additives, flavourings, enzymes and processing aids fall under a separate category (K).

Check that the body you choose is registered with MoIAT and accredited for your category. A certificate issued outside the body's accredited scope may not be accepted.

The UAE Halal National Mark is a separate, optional mark issued by MoIAT's Department of Conformity. It can be granted to a product, service or production system. Do not print it, or any scheme logo, without that approval.

What does Saudi Arabia ask of imported processed food?

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority sets its own clearance conditions. Its conditions and requirements for food clearance, published in April 2025, ask for a copy of the halal certificate for products that need one. The same applies to any product carrying a halal label or logo. The certificate must come from a halal centre designated by the Saudi Halal Center.

The SFDA definition of a halal certificate includes certificates for ingredients, additives and components containing meat derivatives, rennet, gelatine, animal fats and oils. Meat, poultry and raw gelatine intended for food also need a halal slaughter certificate. For a processed food plant, that means supplier evidence for animal-derived inputs is checked at the port, not only by your auditor.

Which ingredients cause most halal findings in processed food?

The headline recipe rarely causes the problem. The hidden inputs do. These are the materials a halal auditor typically traces back to a supplier certificate. The list is AGS's interpretation, not GSO wording.

• Gelatine in glazes, gummies, capsules and dairy desserts, and its source species.
• Emulsifiers such as mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, which can come from plant or animal fat.
• Rennet, enzymes and cultures in cheese powders, bakery improvers and fermented sauces, including the media they were grown on.
• Flavourings, colours and extracts carried in ethanol or other solvents. How your certification body treats ethanol is a ruling you need in writing.
• Animal fats, shortenings and release agents on shared baking lines.
• L-cysteine and other amino acids used as dough conditioners.

OIC/SMIIC 24:2020 covers food additives and other added chemicals in halal food. It is a useful cross-check if you also sell into OIC markets. Other halal kits for food plants are in our food safety and halal collection.

What records will a halal auditor ask to see?

Expect the audit to follow one product from purchase order to dispatch. The records below are AGS's interpretation of what an auditor will typically ask for.

• An approved ingredient and supplier register, with a valid halal certificate or declaration for every sensitive input.
• A halal risk assessment for each new ingredient before first use.
• Change control showing that every reformulation or supplier switch was reviewed before production.
• Line changeover and cleaning verification records where halal and non-halal products share equipment.
• Label approvals showing that halal claims match the certificate scope.
• Traceability from a finished lot back to ingredient lots and their certificates.
• Internal halal audit reports, management review minutes and training records for the halal team.

How do the rules differ if you also export to Malaysia, Indonesia or OIC markets?

There is no single combined halal certificate. One documented system can serve several markets, but each market accepts certificates only under its own scheme and from the bodies it recognises. The table compares the main differences.

For the certification-body side of the Gulf scheme, read our guide to GSO 2055-2:2021. Indonesia's rules for processed food and gelatine are covered in our SJPH processed foods guide.

How AGS can help

Each kit below is editable Microsoft Word documents: manuals, procedures, forms, checklists and training material.

• UAE.S HAS - Processed Foods: 39 documents, including a UAE.S GSO 2055-1:2015 checklist.
• GSO HAS - Processed Foods: 41 documents, including a GSO 2055-1 internal audit checklist.
• Integrated HAS - Processed Foods (GSO, JAKIM, SJPH, SMIIC, UAE.S): 39 documents, with checklists per scheme.

Frequently asked questions

Is GSO 2055-2 the standard my factory is certified to?

No. GSO 2055-2:2021 sets requirements for halal certification bodies. Your factory is audited against GSO 2055-1:2015, or UAE.S GSO 2055-1:2015 in the UAE.

Do raw materials need their own halal certificates in the UAE?

Yes, for the raw materials used in your final products. MoIAT's summary of Cabinet Resolution 10 of 2014 covers both final products and raw materials.

Is the UAE Halal National Mark compulsory?

No. MoIAT describes it as optional. It is issued by MoIAT's Department of Conformity, and you need its approval before using it.

Can one halal system cover the Gulf, Malaysia and Indonesia?

One set of documents can, if it meets the strictest requirement of each scheme. You still need a certificate each target market accepts, from a body it recognises.

AGS provides independent documentation toolkits. This guide and the referenced documents are prepared to support GSO, MoIAT and SFDA halal requirements. They are not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the GCC Standardization Organization, MoIAT, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, SMIIC, JAKIM, BPJPH or any certification body. They do not guarantee any certification outcome.

Reviewed October 2026. Facts checked against the sources current at publication.