United Arab Emirates

Laws, Regulations, and/or Policies: Although there are no specific regulations for halal pharmaceuticals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country is the first in the Middle East to regulate halal certificates and logos for all food products claiming to be halal.  These regulations include halal certification for cosmetics and perfumes as well as clothes and accessories.

In addition, UAE’s new law on Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) for pharmaceuticals is a positive step towards improving the traceability of pharmaceutical ingredients and products which is crucial for establishing halal pharmaceutical standards in the future, as traceability of pharmaceuticals is a major challenge in the halal certification process.

Halal Certifying Bodies: Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA): This is a government agency responsible for regulating and standardizing the Halal certification process in the UAE.

Note: For imported products, the Halal certificate shall be issued by a certification body in the country of origin only, and the certification body must be registered with ESMA. If there is no ESMA registered certification body in the country of origin, the certificate can be issued by ESMA’s registered certification body in a neighboring country.

ESMA Contact Details:

phone: +971 600 565554
website: https://eservices.esma.gov.ae/page/login

Requirements for Halal Pharmaceutical Certification:

UAE is a member of The Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC). All SMIIC members follow the Malaysian Standard of Halal Pharmaceuticals (MS2424) as the basic guideline for halal certification of pharmaceutical products.
MS 2424: Halal Pharmaceuticals – Malaysia General Guidelines.