| Country | Label language in the source | On the inner pack | Sticker accepted? | Source, checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | Arabic; any other language alongside it and identical | Your importer confirms | Not for dates; under the food rules, Arabic text on a supplementary sticker is one sticker, provided by the manufacturer | Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) FAQ on food labels and list of frequent deficiencies in herbal and health product files (regulator); USDA, food, 2023. 9 and 13 October 2026 |
| United Arab Emirates | Food: Arabic. Supplements: the Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE) names no language; Arabic with English, one text, is the safer layout; your importer confirms | No language named | Food: one Arabic sticker, applied before export and approved by the authorities; not for dates | EDE (regulator); USDA, food, 2025. 9 October 2026 |
| Egypt | Arabic and English on the outer and the inner pack, for products the EDA registers | Inner cover made from aluminium: product name, pharmaceutical form, company name or logo; your importer confirms this covers blister foil | Not found | EDA procedures, page 13 (regulator). 9 October 2026 |
| Lebanon | Imported goods in general: Arabic, English or French (ITA). MoPH: licence number and date on the label, no language named; rule in force: your importer confirms | Not found | Not found | ITA, 2026; MoPH (regulator). 9 and 13 October 2026 |
| Morocco | Arabic for food; USDA (May 2023, before the November 2023 circular) reports food supplements exempt from the Arabic rule; your importer confirms | Not found | Food: an Arabic sticker after arrival, ONSSA-approved, if the supplier cannot print Arabic | USDA, food, May 2023. 9 October 2026 |
| Algeria | Not confirmed; rules being rewritten | Not found | Not found | Press, 2026. 9 October 2026 |
| Tunisia | Not confirmed; no specific law yet | Not found | Not found | Press, 2026. 9 October 2026 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Not found in our sources | Not found | Not found | Press on the AIRP, 2026. 9 October 2026 |
| Senegal | Not found in our sources | Not found | Not found | No regulator's text found. 9 October 2026 |
| Nigeria | English (US export page written for processed food) | Written for drugs, supplements not named: names, strength, batch number and expiry date on each blister strip | Stick-on labels meeting NAFDAC requirements: permitted if they do not remove easily; a foreign label goes on before export (page written for processed food) | TTB; drug labelling regulations, 2005. 9 and 13 October 2026 |
| Ghana | Not confirmed; your importer confirms. File certificates: English | Not found | Not found | Ghana FDA guideline, 2013 (regulator). 9 October 2026 |
| Kenya | English and/or Kiswahili | Not found | Not found | ITA, imports, 2024. 9 October 2026 |
| Tanzania | Kiswahili, English or both | Not found | Under the food import rules: stick-on labels strictly prohibited | USDA, food import rules, 2026. 13 October 2026 |
| Ethiopia | English or Amharic | Not found | Not found | USDA, food, 2024. 13 October 2026 |
| South Africa | Not confirmed; your importer confirms | Not found | Not found | No source found. 13 October 2026 |
"Not found": nothing on the point in the texts we used for supplements, so your importer confirms. Many rows rest on food or import rules from US agencies: the Department of Agriculture (USDA), International Trade Administration (ITA) and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). MoPH: Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health. ONSSA: Morocco's food safety office. AIRP: Autorité ivoirienne de régulation pharmaceutique. NAFDAC: Nigeria's food and drug agency.
Which language goes on the carton for Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt?
Arabic for Saudi Arabia, where the SFDA states that "labelling and adjoining explanatory statements shall be in Arabic". Arabic and English for Egypt, for a product the EDA registers. For the UAE, where the EDE names no language for supplements and food rules ask for Arabic, Arabic with English is the safer layout, and your importer confirms it.
Must the label be in French for Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia or West Africa?
In the sources we could open, no rule requires French on a supplement label in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire or Senegal; your importer confirms the language.
For Morocco, a USDA report (May 2023, before the circular of November 2023 on registration) says Order 1379-10 of 2010 exempts food supplements from the Arabic rule for food.
What must the blister foil carry?
Of the rules we read, only Egypt's, for a product the EDA registers, sets a lighter minimum for an inner pack: for an inner cover made from aluminium, the product name, the pharmaceutical form and the company name or logo are enough. Your importer confirms that this covers blister foil.
On our blister products the lidding foil carries your brand, and the batch number and expiry date go on the carton.
Where a rule asks for the batch number and expiry date on each blister strip, as Nigeria's drug regulations do (written for drugs, supplements not named), your importer confirms whether a carton is accepted.
Can a sticker add the language after the goods arrive?
Sometimes. Under its food rules Morocco allows an Arabic sticker after arrival with ONSSA's approval, if the importer shows the supplier cannot print Arabic; the UAE's food rules take one Arabic sticker applied before export; under the Saudi food rules, Arabic text on a supplementary sticker is one sticker, provided by the manufacturer. Under the Saudi and UAE food rules a date cannot be a sticker, and Tanzania's food import rules prohibit stick-on labels. Your importer confirms what applies to a supplement.
The Saudi and UAE food rules both ask for a production date and an expiry date on the packaging or the original label. We put the expiry date on the carton, printed with it or applied during cartoning, not as a sticker, and your importer confirms which dates the carton must show.
Who checks the Arabic or French text, and what should I send?
Your importer or a native speaker, on your side. We lay out and print the carton to the label rules of your market, which your importer confirms, and print the lidding foil with your brand. Artwork you already have can be used instead. Nothing is printed before you approve the artwork, so have the Arabic and French read then, as they will print. Send:
- The approved text for each language, if you have it, as editable text, not a scan or screenshot: Arabic runs right to left with joined letters, and text copied out of a PDF can come out reversed or with the letters unjoined.
- What your importer has confirmed for each country: languages, mandatory text, date format, registration or licence numbers and, where your market asks, importer's details, or a note that these come later.
- The product name in Arabic where the market needs one; the SFDA lists missing Arabic translations among frequent deficiencies in herbal and health product files.
- Your logo, and your own artwork if you have one.
This page does not cover a leaflet in the pack; your importer confirms whether your market asks for one.
What your product decides
Each line shows the cost in time or risk.
| Your product or market | What changes | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt, a product the EDA registers | The importer's details in Arabic, the price and the registration number are added | Time: the number comes only after registration; ask your importer when it is added |
Questions buyers ask about label languages
Is Arabic mandatory on a supplement carton in Saudi Arabia?
Yes. The SFDA's FAQ on food labels requires Arabic, with any other language alongside it and identical in content.
Does a supplement carton for the UAE need Arabic and English?
UAE food rules ask for Arabic and the EDE names no language for supplements, so one text in both is the safer layout; your importer confirms it.
What does Egypt ask for on an aluminium inner pack?
For a product the EDA registers: product name, pharmaceutical form, company name or logo. Your importer confirms that this covers blister foil.
Is French enough for Morocco, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal?
We cannot confirm it: no rule we read requires French there; your importer confirms the language.
Is an English label enough for Nigeria and East Africa?
In the rules we read (Kenya: imports in general; Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria: food), yes; for a supplement, your importer confirms.
Can an Arabic sticker replace printing the carton?
Sometimes, under food rules: one Arabic sticker in the UAE (before export) and in Saudi Arabia (provided by the manufacturer), and in Morocco after arrival; no date stickers in the Gulf, no stick-on labels in Tanzania. Your importer confirms for a supplement.
Who checks the Arabic or French on the carton?
Your importer or a native speaker, before you approve the artwork.
Where do the batch number and expiry date go on a blister product?
On the carton. For Saudi Arabia and the UAE, your importer confirms which dates the carton must show.
Read more
Middle East · North Africa · West Africa · East Africa · Africa · Blister artwork guide · Export documents
Ask about a carton in Arabic, French or English
Tell us the product, the countries of sale and the languages your importer has confirmed, with the approved text if you have it. We answer within 24 hours, Monday to Friday. Run sizes and production times: minimum order quantity and production times.
Request a quote → Email sales@hyperpharm.eu
Sources
- Saudi Food and Drug Authority: FAQ on the language of food labels (SFDA.FD/GSO 9), answer updated 18 July 2024. sfda.gov.sa. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Saudi Food and Drug Authority, Drug Sector: Top Deficiencies in Validation and Assessment Phases of Herbal and Health Products, version 1.1; cover dated 8 December 2020, document control dates version 1.1 8 June 2023 (Arabic translation of the label and the artwork). sfda.gov.sa. Checked 9 and 13 October 2026.
- US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Foreign Agricultural Service: FAIRS Country Report, Saudi Arabia, SA2023-0004, 26 July 2023. Written for food; production and expiry dates directly on the packages or the original label, no date stickers; Arabic text on one supplementary sticker provided by the manufacturer (the report cites section 7.2.2.1 of the labelling regulation). Copy on agriexchange.apeda.gov.in. Checked 9 and 13 October 2026.
- Emirates Drug Establishment: Registration of Pharmaceutical Product for General Sale, service infographic (dietary supplements in scope; copies of the outer pack, inner pack and leaflet; no label language named). ede.gov.ae. Checked 9 October 2026.
- USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service: FAIRS Country Report, United Arab Emirates, TC2025-0008, 21 November 2025. Written for food; Arabic, one sticker before export, production and expiry dates on the original label or primary packaging and not on stickers. Copy on agriexchange.apeda.gov.in. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Egyptian Drug Authority: GL.CAPP.035, Executive procedures of Decree 572/2022, issued 22 September 2022. Parts used: section headed Names, cards and leaflets, page 13 (Arabic and English on the outer and inner cover; inner cover made from aluminium; importer's details for imported products). edaegypt.gov.eg. Checked 9 and 13 October 2026.
- Ministry of Public Health, Lebanon: Decision of the Minister of Public Health: Banning of any Food Supplement Advertisement in the Mass Media. It amends decisions No. 2207/1 of 18 December 2014 and No. 376/1 of 12 March 2019 on the import of food supplements (licence number and date on the label). The page does not show the date of the amending decision. moph.gov.lb. Checked 13 October 2026.
- US International Trade Administration (ITA): Lebanon, Labeling/Marking Requirements, last published 23 February 2026. Imported goods in general. trade.gov. Checked 9 and 13 October 2026.
- USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service: FAIRS Country Report, Morocco, MO2023-0005, 9 May 2023, before the joint circular of November 2023. Order 1379-10 and the Arabic labelling requirement; Arabic stickers for food, approved by ONSSA, where the importer shows the supplier cannot print Arabic. Copy on agriexchange.apeda.gov.in. Checked 9 and 13 October 2026.
- TelQuel: How Morocco's supplement market outpaces regulation, 27 July 2026. Press report citing ONSSA: joint circular No. 834 of 14 November 2023 as the basis of registration. telquel.ma. Checked 9 October 2026.
- AllAfrica (French edition), 12 March 2026: bill on food supplements heard by a committee of Tunisia's parliament; no specific law yet. Press. fr.allafrica.com. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Fratmat, 16 September 2026: the AIRP's declaration campaign for health products, supplements included. Press. fratmat.info. Checked 9 October 2026.
- US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB): International affairs resources for Nigeria. Written for processed food; the page shows update dates of 2010 and 2024; English labels, stick-on labels meeting NAFDAC requirements that do not remove easily, foreign labels applied before export. ttb.gov. Checked 9 and 13 October 2026.
- Nigeria: Drug Labelling Regulations 2005, regulation 13(b), "Blister packs". Covers drugs and related products, where the container meets the regulations; supplements are not named. WIPO Lex. Checked 13 October 2026.
- Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana: Guideline for Registration of Food/Nutritional/Dietary Supplements, FDA/HMD/GL-FS/2012/01, issued 1 March 2013 (certificates in English; labelling rules in a separate guideline). fdaghana.gov.gh. Checked 9 October 2026.
- ITA: Kenya, Labeling/Marking Requirements, 5 July 2024. Imports in general. trade.gov. Checked 9 October 2026.
- USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service: FAIRS Country Report, Tanzania, TZ2025-0018, 15 January 2026. Written for food imports; label languages, stick-on labels prohibited. Copy on agriexchange.apeda.gov.in. Checked 13 October 2026.
- USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service: FAIRS Country Report, Ethiopia, ET20240018, 11 October 2024. Written for food; English or Amharic. Copy on agriexchange.apeda.gov.in. Checked 13 October 2026.