Master SFDA’s Microbiological Standards for Seamless Food Certification
Saudi Arabia maintains some of the world’s strictest food safety and microbiological standards under the supervision of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA).
With a significant portion of the Kingdom’s food supply sourced internationally, ensuring imported goods are safe and compliant is not just a regulatory formality, it’s a critical step to prevent costly shipment rejections.
Why Microbiological Compliance Matters
Cotecna is an SFDA-authorized Conformity Assessment Body (CAB), providing inspection and certification services for exporters shipping to Saudi Arabia. Our experts work closely with exporters, manufacturers, and traders to verify compliance before products leave origin, safeguarding your trade reputation and ensuring smooth market entry.
If you export food to Saudi Arabia, it’s essential to understand the microbiological limits set out in SFDA.FD/GSO 1016:2015, the core regulation defining acceptable microbiological criteria for foodstuffs. The regulation specifies permissible microbiological levels based on product type, with testing parameters that vary across categories such as meat and poultry, egg products, dairy, seafood, and gelatin etc. Certain food groups are subject to more stringent requirements than others to ensure maximum consumer safety. These criteria are designed to:
- Verify that products are free from harmful pathogens.
- Ensure compliance with good manufacturing practices (GMP) and HACCP principles.
- Maintain consumer protection and food safety integrity throughout the supply chain.
Below are examples of microbiological parameters and key limits for selected food groups
1. Meat, Poultry, and Their Products
• Raw Meat (Chilled/Frozen):
• Salmonella: Not permitted (0 cfu/g)
• Escherichia coli O157: Not permitted (0 cfu/g)
• Fresh Poultry (Chilled/Frozen):
• Salmonella: Not permitted (0 cfu/g)
• Escherichia coli O157: Not permitted (0 cfu/g)
Campylobacter jejuni : Not permitted (0 cfu/g)
2. Raw Minced Meat and Poultry (Chilled/Frozen):
• Salmonella: Not permitted (0 cfu/g)
• Escherichia coli O157: Not permitted (0 cfu/g)
3. Egg Products
• Aerobic Plate Count: Maximum 10⁶ cfu/g
• Salmonella: Not permitted (0 cfu/g)
• Enterobacteriaceae: Maximum 10² cfu/g
4. Gelatine
• Aerobic Plate Count: Maximum 5×10³ cfu/g
• Salmonella: Not permitted (0 cfu/g)
• Staphylococcus aureus: Maximum 10² cfu/g
• Clostridium perfringens: Maximum 10³ cfu/g
These microbiological limits reflect zero tolerance for major pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli O157, Campylobacter jejuni etc ensuring that all products reaching Saudi consumers are microbiologically safe.
Every year, food shipments are rejected or destroyed at Saudi borders due to non-compliance with SFDA microbiological standards. By partnering with Cotecna for certification and inspection, you can ensure your products meet the required safety benchmarks before they ship.
Contact us for more information on SFDA Food Certification or Download our free SFDA Food Exporter Guide.
About Cotecna
For over 50 years, we have been supporting agriculture, food and pharma, minerals and metals, and consumer products supply chains all over the world. We provide testing, inspection, and certification services to help our clients navigate evolving regulations, ensure product compliance, and support their sustainability journey.