Dubai Municipality School Food Requirements: 2026 Guide for Caterers

Supplying food to schools in Dubai means working to one main rulebook: Dubai Municipality's Dubai Food and Nutrition Guidelines and Requirements in Educational Institutions. The Food Safety Department wrote it, and it is published through the municipality's My School Food programme. It sets out who may supply a canteen, which permit you need, how menus get approved, and the nutrient limits every menu item has to meet.

This guide goes through the supplier requirements in that document clause by clause, so you can check your own operation against the source. The guideline uses "shall" or "must" for mandatory requirements and "should" for strongly recommended ones. We keep that difference below. Rules change, so always check the current guideline PDF and confirm anything you are unsure about with the Food Safety Department (nutrition@dm.gov.ae) before you submit a menu.

Key Takeaways

Two approvals come before anything else. A supplier needs a Food Permit to Educational Institutions from Dubai Municipality, and it may only sell the items on its Approved Menu.
Supplier eligibility is specific. You need a trade license covering the activity, an inspection grade of A or B, an independent third-party food safety audit, and a trained Person-in-Charge (PIC) present on every shift.
Every menu item is classified under Smart Choices (Green, Amber, Red, Black). Limits apply both per 100 g and per serving, and the per-serving limits are adjusted by age group.
Some foods are banned outright. These include artificial sweeteners, processed meats, confectionery, sugary drinks, deep-fried foods, and anything non-halal.
Allergens must be declared no matter how small the amount. The guideline lists nine allergen groups that Dubai Municipality recognises.
Sustainability is part of the guidance. Schools must offer a vegetarian option, and meat-free days and locally sourced ingredients are encouraged.

Who the Guideline Applies To

Section 3 of the guideline covers food suppliers, and canteens run by schools, that serve or sell food to private school students aged 4 to 18. It also covers vending machines, cafés and events on school premises, plus canteens in nurseries, universities and colleges. It applies to cooked, ready-to-eat and pre-packaged food, and to service providers that support suppliers, such as food laboratories, training centres and consultants.

The programme is large. When Dubai Municipality launched the My School Food digital platform in June 2025, Gulf News reported that it covers more than 400,000 students across more than 500 schools, nurseries and universities, plus over 50 school food suppliers.

Supplier Eligibility: What You Need Before You Can Supply

Clause 3.2.1.2 says educational institutions should buy food only from suppliers that have all of the following:

A valid trade license that explicitly names the relevant business activity, such as catering, bakery or manufacturing.
A high food safety rating. This means a verifiable inspection grade of A or B from the Food Safety Department's Food Inspection Section.
Safe food handling facilities that can prepare, transport and store food to the standards in the Dubai Food Code.
A third-party food safety audit. An independent audit must confirm that you follow food safety regulations.
A trained Person-in-Charge (PIC) for the canteen. The PIC must be formally trained in both nutrition requirements and food safety, and must hold an active account on the municipality's digital food safety platform. The PIC must be present on every shift. If a school has several food service areas, each one needs its own PIC.

Clause 3.2.2.1 adds two more conditions. The Food Safety Department must approve the layout and processes of your canteen and/or production facility before you start supplying. You must also keep a good compliance history, with no major violations during the supply period.

About Inspection Grades, Foodwatch and DMChecked

Dubai Municipality grades food establishments on a five-letter scale from A to E. Gulf News described the grades as running from A ("Excellent") to E ("Very poor"). A school supplier needs an A or a B. A C, D or E does not meet the school supplier requirement.

The guideline text still refers to Foodwatch, the municipality's food safety platform. It is used for PIC accounts, for linking a school to its approved supplier, and for uploading Approved Menus. Since then, Dubai Municipality has introduced DMChecked, which Gulf News describes as the revamped platform that replaces Foodwatch. Khaleej Times reports that DMChecked is now used to monitor canteen performance and review menus. Where this guide says "Foodwatch", check with the municipality which platform the step now uses.

Under clauses 3.2.1.3 and 3.2.2.3, every business that supplies food to an educational institution, and every school that runs its own canteen, must hold a valid Food Permit to Educational Institutions from the Food Safety Department. Only the foods listed in the permit may be sold. Any change to the Approved Menu needs a new approval from Dubai Municipality. Clause 3.2.2.4 says suppliers must not provide any food the Food Safety Department has not approved.

The guideline sets out the Approved Menu application in three steps:

Step 1: Complete and Submit the Application

Submit your weekly menus together with the completed Supply Food To Educational Institutions Form. The form must name the supplier's designated PIC and the school's appointed PIC. Menu items sent outside the cycle menu are not accepted, except for vending machines or canteens that sell the same items all year. New or reformulated items are approved only at the end of each term, and the approval takes effect the following term.

Step 2: Receive the Approved Menu

The municipality reviews the form and the weekly menus. If the items comply, it issues an "Approved Menu".

Step 3: Digitise the Approved Menu

The supplier's PIC at the canteen uploads the Approved Menu and that week's submitted menu to the school's QR code on the municipality's food safety platform.

Menu Cycle and Nutrition Data Rules

Weekly menu cycle (3.3.1.1): You must rotate at least four weekly cycle menus, and two to three seasonal menus are recommended. Menus are submitted in 4-week batches, with values entered per 100 g for each component.
Nutritional assessment (3.2.2.5): You must assess every product from its recipe, including ingredients and quantities. You must provide the results to the Food Safety Department, to schools, or to any authorised regulator when asked.
Revalidation (3.2.2.6): Whenever you change a product, its ingredients, its proportions or its serving size, you must revalidate the nutrition information and get it approved again.
Accepted methods (3.2.2.7): The nutrition information can come from nutrient analysis software, from a laboratory approved by the Food Safety Department, or from manual calculation using known or accepted ingredient values.

Clause 3.3.1.2 defines six kinds of menu items: Main dish, Main dish combo (a main plus a dessert side), Full meal combo (a main, a dessert side and a beverage), Entrée snack (a smaller portion of a main dish), Snacks (small pre-packaged items) and Beverages. For mains and combos, you declare each component per 100 g, then assess the whole item per 100 g and per serving. Each main dish must contain at least three food groups, and protein, grains and vegetables are the major components (3.3.1.4).

Clause 3.3.1.3 sets a weight limit for each food type:

Food type	Weight limit per item
Pre-packaged products	40 g
Bakery and dessert items	60 g
Other savory foods (e.g. samosas, manakish, pizza, filled breads)	100 g
Catered foods (mains and entrées)	No set limit

The Smart Choices Classification

Under clause 3.3.2.1, every menu item supplied to a school must be classified into one of four colour categories. Each category controls how often the item may appear on the menu:

Daily Smart Choices (Green): fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy, healthy fats and water. These are always on the menu.
Sometimes Smart Choices (Amber): moderately healthy items, such as muffins without frosting or full-fat yogurt. These may appear twice a week. There is also a "Sometimes Smart +" (light amber) level for items closer to Green, which is offered once a week in smaller portions.
Seldom Smart Choices (Red): restricted items, such as frosted baked goods, baked donuts and ice cream. These may be served once a month, or three times a term (3.3.2.5).
Never Smart Choices (Black): banned items. These are not allowed on the menu or as an ingredient.

For a plain-language walkthrough of the categories, see our Smart Food Choices guide.

Nutrient Criteria

Clause 3.3.2.2 says each menu item must meet the criteria for calories, total fat, saturated fat, added sugars, sodium and fibre. The limits apply both per serving and per 100 g (3.3.2.3). The table below shows the figures as printed in the guideline. The guideline's table does not print units, so check the How To Categorize Menu Items annex before you apply them. For fibre, the value is a minimum, not a maximum.

Nutrient	Green (per serving)	Amber (per serving)	Red (per serving)	Green (per 100 g)	Amber (per 100 g)	Red (per 100 g)
Energy	500	600	> 600	120	500	> 500
Total fat	19.5	23	> 23	3	17.5	> 17.5
Saturated fat	5	6	> 6	1.5	5	> 5
Sodium	600	700	> 700	120	600	> 600
Added sugars	6.75	9	> 9	5.75	11.25	> 11.25
Dietary fibre	2.8	2.52	< 2.52	3	2	< 2

Source: Smart Choices Nutrient Criteria Table, clause 3.3.2.2 of the guideline.

Age-Group Percentages

The per-serving limits above are a baseline. Clause 3.3.2.4 scales them by age group and by the kind of menu item. For example, a main dish for 4–8 year olds is assessed at 70% of the baseline limits. A full meal combo for 14–18 year olds is assessed at 130%.

Age group	Main dish	Main dish combo	Full meal combo	Entrée snack	Snacks
4–8 years (Small)	70%	80%	100%	40%	40%
9–13 years (Medium)	90%	100%	120%	70%	70%
14–18 years / University (Large)	100%	110%	130%	Not specified	Not specified

The guideline sets separate percentages for nursery age groups from 6 months to 6 years. It also includes a phased schedule of targets (Annex 20) that moves canteen menus steadily away from Red and Amber items toward Green.

Banned and Restricted Foods

Clause 3.4.3 lists the Never Smart Choices. These must not be used, served, displayed or promoted in schools:

Artificial sweeteners and salt substitutes
Food or drinks with added protein supplements
Non-halal foods in any form, at any activity or event, including events for staff and parents
Processed meats, such as deli meats, hot dogs, mortadella, and commercially processed burgers and nuggets
Sugar and chocolate confectionery
Highly sweetened drinks, such as soft drinks, sports drinks and flavoured water (energy drinks are also listed among the banned examples)
Chocolate in all its forms, with narrow exemptions: low-sugar chocolate milk or hot chocolate (200 ml), and cacao in baked goods made mainly with fruit, vegetables or legumes
Deep-fried foods (a baked version that is low in fat and/or sodium is exempt)

Clause 3.4.2 lists Restricted Foods. These are allowed only within set exemptions, usually no more than twice a week. They include savory pre-packaged snacks, bakery products, high-salt condiments and pickles, high-fat sauces and dressings, regular coconut milk, and dairy desserts. Beverages must meet the Simplified Beverage Criteria, which cover volume, fruit juice content and added sugars per 100 ml. Coffee and tea are allowed only for the oldest students (Grades 11–12 / Years 12–13), up to 240 ml, and only in a separate designated area. Vending machines must mainly stock Green items, and must not sell Red or Black items (3.4.4).

Nutrition Labelling and Allergens

Labelling (3.4.8). Every menu item sold on school premises must be verified and labelled per serving for calories, carbohydrates, saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The guideline also says a fuller panel should be provided for all meals, snacks and beverages. That panel gives the name, net weight and serving size, then kilocalories, carbohydrates, added sugars, dietary fibre, protein, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, vitamin D and iron, both per serving and per 100 g. Pre-packaged products must also meet UAE labelling rules. See our UAE food labeling guide.

Allergens (3.4.9). Every meal must show any allergen present, whether it is a main ingredient, part of a compound ingredient, an additive or a processing aid. Allergens must be labelled or declared on the menu however small the amount, citing the Dubai Food Code. The Food Safety Department recognises nine allergen groups in this guideline:

Crustaceans and their products
Peanuts and their products
Soybeans and their products
Tree nuts and their products
Sesame seeds and their products
Fish and fish products
Egg and egg products
Milk and milk products
Gluten and cereals containing gluten (Kamut, wheat, oats, rye, barley and spelt)

Food Safety, Training and Inspections

Clause 3.4.10 says all food suppliers must follow the 10 Points to Food Safety: good personal hygiene, preventing the spread of illness, supplier management, food safety controls, monitoring storage practices, evaluating the menu, pest management, cleaning and disinfection, waste management, and allergen management. Schools and nurseries with children aged 6 and under have extra requirements for pantries and lunch box storage (3.4.11).

Training (3.5.1). Basic Food Hygiene Training is mandatory for all food handlers. Managers, PICs and school representatives should also complete PIC and Advanced PIC training, plus the nutrition and sustainability training run by the municipality's Applied Nutrition and Awareness Section. Dubai Municipality also publishes a Nutrition In-Charge training programme on the My School Food site.

Monitoring (3.5.2). The supplier's PIC must carry out canteen self-monitoring every month, and the school's PIC every quarter. Production facilities also self-monitor. Suppliers of ready-to-eat, high-risk foods to schools should be treated as high-risk establishments and inspected at least once every six months.

Enforcement. According to Khaleej Times, the municipality's food safety officers inspect 456 institutions a year. When they find non-compliance, they act immediately: products are withdrawn, their circulation is banned, and schools must take corrective steps. The guideline does not publish fines, so ask the municipality directly about penalties.

Sustainability and "Green Canteens"

"Green Canteens" is not a formal certification you can apply for. Gulf News describes it as a sustainability concept within the guidance, covering sustainable menus, locally sourced food, less food waste, and avoiding single-use packaging. The one firm rule is clause 3.4.1: all schools must offer at least one vegetarian option for every type of meal sold. The rest are recommendations, such as meat-free days in each weekly cycle menu (3.4.6), locally sourced ingredients (3.4.7) and less food and packaging waste (2.4).

How Software Helps With the Nutrition Workload

The hardest part for most caterers is the arithmetic, not the kitchen. Every recipe needs a nutrition assessment. Every component has to be declared per 100 g. Every item has to be checked against Smart Choices limits at the right age-group percentage. And all of it must be redone whenever an ingredient or portion changes. Across a four-week menu cycle, that is hundreds of calculations to keep in step with what is actually being cooked. The guideline explicitly accepts nutrient analysis software as a way to get the data.

Keep Your School Menu Data in One Place

RecipeBuilder links your recipes to their nutrition and allergen data. It calculates nutrition from USDA FoodData Central data, generates allergen declarations from your ingredients, produces bilingual English/Arabic labels, and tracks recipe costs, so a changed ingredient updates everything that depends on it. You still classify items and submit menus through Dubai Municipality's own process. RecipeBuilder keeps the numbers behind those submissions consistent. Book a call to see how it fits your school catering workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What inspection grade do I need to supply food to Dubai schools?

The guideline requires a verifiable inspection grade of A or B from the Food Safety Department's Food Inspection Section. Dubai Municipality's grades run from A (Excellent) to E (Very poor), so a C, D or E does not meet the school supplier requirement. You also need a good compliance history with no major violations during the supply period.

Is HACCP certification required for Dubai school caterers?

The Dubai school food guideline does not name HACCP or ISO 22000 as a requirement. It does require an independent third-party food safety audit, facilities that meet the Dubai Food Code, a trained Person-in-Charge on every shift, and adherence to the 10 Points to Food Safety. Many caterers run a certified food safety management system anyway, but check with the Food Safety Department before treating any specific certificate as mandatory.

How many allergens must school caterers declare in Dubai?

The guideline lists nine allergen groups recognised by Dubai Municipality's Food Safety Department: crustaceans, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts, sesame, fish, egg, milk, and cereals containing gluten. They must be declared on the menu or label however small the amount, including when they come from a compound ingredient, additive or processing aid. Pre-packaged products must also meet the UAE labelling standards that apply to them.

Can I add a new dish to my school menu mid-term?

Generally, no. Only foods on your Approved Menu may be sold, and any change needs Dubai Municipality's approval. Under the guideline, new or reformulated menu items are approved only at the end of each term and take effect the following term. Vending machines and canteens that sell the same items all year are the exception.