SFDA shuts food production lines, cracks down on violators

Logo of Saudi Arabia Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) 

Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) suspended several food production lines and closed a ready-to-serve frozen food factory after detecting serious safety violations and seizing all products.

The violations, uncovered during last month’s inspections, included poor hygiene, unsafe practices, and weak safety oversight at a facility producing pickles and ready-to-serve foods, creating conditions for the growth of harmful bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli, and Salmonella spp, which cause severe food poisoning, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Despite being granted a grace period under Article 12 of the Food Law, the facility failed to address the violations. As a result, all production lines were shut down and legal procedures were initiated.

Another facility producing ready-to-eat poultry products was found to be operating with unlicensed workers, lacking a HACCP certificate, storing expired food without proper segregation, and using rusted, non-compliant equipment.

The facility was fined under Article 20 of the executive regulations, and its operations were partially suspended pending corrective action.

Separately, 11 production lines at dairy and frozen pastry factories were halted after lab tests confirmed contamination with Clostridium perfringens, a common contaminant associated with food poisoning.

The SFDA gave violating establishments 30 days to implement corrective plans, including quality system upgrades, staff training, and replacement of non-compliant equipment, with follow-up inspections to verify compliance.