Article 18 of the Saudi Food Law

This article requires food establishments to have what is known as the ability to trace food. It contains three obligations:

1. The establishment must be able to identify the source of the food under its supervision.
2. It must be able to identify the food establishments that supply it, that is, its suppliers.
3. It must provide the Authority with the information requested if required.

In Article 1, the Law defines food traceability as the procedures and measures that make it possible to follow the trail of food, any of its sources or any substance added to it, at any stage of the food chain.

In practice, an establishment needs to keep what allows it to know where each food item came from and who supplied it. The text does not specify the form of the records or how long they must be kept; it only requires the ability to identify and determine.

The importance of this obligation shows when a problem arises, since Article 19 allows the Authority to evaluate food before, during and after marketing, and knowing the source of the food and its suppliers makes it easier to deal with the results of that evaluation. The obligation also applies the general responsibility in Article 17, which makes the establishment responsible for ensuring that the Law and its regulations are applied in its activity.