Nutrition Facts & Calorie Calculation for UAE Food Businesses

One service for every nutrition-declaration need

Menu calorie declaration: Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Both emirates now require calorie information on food menus. Dubai Municipality runs calorie declaration through its Al Riyada programme and its Guide for Calorie Declaration in Food Establishments, tied to the National Nutrition Agenda. Abu Dhabi requires it under ADAFSA's guideline for displaying calories on food menus. Running a lab analysis on every dish is slow, costly and impractical for a menu that changes.

We calculate the calorie and nutrition values for each menu item through a qualified nutritionist, giving you an accurate, defensible declaration you can put on the menu with confidence — and keep updated as the menu changes.

Abu Dhabi SEHHI programme: healthy menus and calorie display

SEHHI is the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) healthy food programme. It runs in three strands: SEHHI for Supermarkets and Groceries, SEHHI for Displaying Calories on the Menu, and SEHHI Healthy Menus. If you operate a food service in Abu Dhabi, the second and third strands are the ones that decide what your menu has to show and what it has to contain.

The 2026 workplace guideline

In May 2026 ADPHC expanded SEHHI with a technical guideline for workplaces. Two requirements sit at its centre: calorie information must be displayed at every food touchpoint, and a minimum of 30 per cent of the items on offer must meet SEHHI nutritional criteria. It applies broadly across Abu Dhabi workplaces that serve food or drink, including cafeterias, catering services, vending machines, kiosks and coffee stations.

The guideline also sets out the operating side: registration through the official SEHHI channels, a named focal point, approval of food items, staff training, awareness activity and ongoing monitoring.

Where the 30 per cent rule bites

Displaying calories is a calculation exercise. Meeting the 30 per cent threshold is a menu design exercise, and you cannot know whether you meet it until every item has been calculated against the SEHHI criteria. Most operators discover the gap only when they try to register. Working it out first tells you which items already qualify, which are close enough to reformulate, and which need replacing.

• Per-item nutrition calculated by a qualified nutritionist, not estimated
• Each item assessed against the SEHHI nutritional criteria so you know your true percentage
• Reformulation options for items that sit just outside the threshold
• Calorie declarations prepared for menus, boards, vending and digital ordering points
• Supporting calculation records for registration and inspection

Our guide to the Abu Dhabi SEHHI healthy menu and calorie requirements explains the programme in full. If you also sell packaged product in Abu Dhabi, the same underlying calculation feeds your GSO 2233 panel and your Nutri-Mark position, so it is worth doing once and doing it properly.

Calculation or lab analysis?

Not every product needs costly lab testing. For most standard products, calculation from ingredient and recipe data — using recognised food-composition databases and GSO rounding rules — is accepted. Where a lab analysis is genuinely required, for certain claims or complex and variable matrices, we tell you upfront rather than after a rejection. Any calorie or nutrient claim on a label or menu must be backed by supporting documentation, which is exactly what we produce.

Coverage

UAE-wide — Dubai (Dubai Municipality food registration and Al Riyada calorie declaration) and Abu Dhabi (ADAFSA menu calories and school canteen standards) — plus GCC markets under the GSO framework. Registering the same product in Saudi Arabia? That runs under SFDA, and we handle both gateways from one recipe brief.

How it works