Standards
The Department of Standards and Meteorology at the Public Authority for Industry has developed some 300 Kuwaiti standards that are currently in force. These have been based on a combination of American, British, German and other national standards modified to suit Kuwait. In addition, Kuwait has adopted a number of import regulations that conform to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) standards. Most importantly:
(1) Instruction manuals for imported durable goods must be translated into Arabic; and,
(2) Consumer durable goods including, but not restricted to, large appliances must be able to operate without a transformer on Kuwait's 240 volt, 50 hertz power transmission system.
Labeling and marking requirements
All goods imported into Kuwait must be clearly marked with the country of origin. Food labels must include product and brand names, production and expiry dates, country of origin, name and address of the manufacturer, net weight in metric units, and a list of ingredients in descending order of importance. All fats and oils used as ingredients must be specifically identified on the label. Labels must be in Arabic/English or Arabic only. Arabic stickers are accepted.
Shelf-life standards
Kuwait enforces a shelf-life standard for 44 food products. The manufacturer's established shelf life is accepted for other food products. The manufacturer must print production and expiry dates on the original label or container. Dates cannot be added after the fact via a sticker. Products must arrive at destination with at least half the shelf-life duration remaining.
Food and pharmaceutical products should also bear the following labeling information:
- Batch or lot number
- Manufacturing date
- Expiry date or validity
- Description of contents
- Storage conditions
- Name of the pharmacopoeia (for a pharmacopoeia product)
