Supplying food to Dubai schools is regulated activity. Dubai Municipality's Food Safety Department sets out who may supply school canteens, and what they may serve, in the Dubai Food and Nutrition Guidelines and Requirements in Educational Institutions, published through the My School Food programme. For a new caterer, bakery or food manufacturer, two things have to be in place: your business has to meet the guideline's criteria for an approved food supplier, and your menu has to be approved under a Food Permit To Educational Institutions before you sell it.
This guide walks through both, based on the guideline text itself. Where the guideline does not publish something, such as fees or processing times, we say so rather than guess. Always confirm current procedures with Dubai Municipality before you commit to a school contract.
Key Takeaways
- Supplier eligibility comes first: a trade license covering the relevant activity, a Food Inspection grade of A or B, Food Code-compliant facilities, an independent third-party food safety audit, and a trained Person-in-Charge (PIC) assigned to the canteen.
- Menus are approved, not just suppliers: you submit weekly cycle menus with the Supply Food To Educational Institutions Form, receive an Approved Menu, then upload it on the school's QR code.
- Any change to the Approved Menu needs another approval. New or reformulated items are approved only at the end of each term, to take effect the following term.
- You may only sell what is approved: schools must make sure only the foods listed in the permit are sold.
- Nutrition and allergen data must be based on the recipe, and allergens must be declared on the menu, however small the amount.
What the Rules Cover
The guideline's requirements section applies to food suppliers and school-run canteens serving private school students aged 4 to 18, as well as vending machines, student cafés and events, and canteens in nurseries, early learning centres, universities and colleges. It covers cooked, ready-to-eat and pre-packaged food. It also reaches service providers that support suppliers, such as food laboratories, training centres and nutrition consultants.
The guideline uses "shall" and "must" for mandatory requirements and "should" for strongly recommended ones. That distinction matters when you read the clauses quoted below.
Annex 13 of the guideline shows two supply models, both of which require a school food permit application:
- Category 1: canteen managed by an external contractor, using a catering facility either inside or outside the school.
- Category 2: canteen managed by the educational institution, with food supplied by individual food businesses.
Supplier Eligibility Requirements
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Book a callClause 3.2.2.2 requires food businesses supplying schools to meet all of the supplier criteria in clause 3.2.1.2. Those criteria are:
| Requirement | What the guideline says |
|---|---|
| Trade license | A valid trade license that explicitly names the relevant business activity, such as catering, bakery or manufacturing. |
| Food safety rating | A verifiable inspection grade of A or B from the Food Safety Department's Food Inspection Section. |
| Facilities | Facilities equipped to prepare, transport and store food according to the Dubai Food Code. |
| Third-party audit | An independent third-party audit verifying adherence to food safety regulations must be in place. |
| Trained PIC for the canteen | A designated Person-in-Charge with an active Foodwatch account, assigned to that school's canteen and formally trained in both nutrition requirements and food safety. The PIC must be present every shift, and separate PICs are needed for multiple food service areas or locations in the school. |
Clause 3.2.2.1 adds two more conditions. The layout and processes of the canteen and/or production facility must be approved by the Food Safety Department before supply begins. The supplier must also keep a good compliance history, with no major violations during the supply period.
A note on grades and platforms. Dubai Municipality grades food establishments on an A to E scale, so the guideline accepts only the top two grades. The guideline, dated August 2024, refers to Foodwatch throughout. Dubai Municipality now says it monitors school canteens and reviews menus through its DM Checked platform. Check with the Food Safety Department which platform your PIC account and menu uploads should use.
How to Apply: The Approved Menu Process
Under clause 3.2.2.3, businesses that supply schools, and schools that run their own canteens, must obtain a valid Food Permit To Educational Institutions from the Food Safety Department. You get it by following the Approved Menu steps below (also shown in Annex 14).
Step 1: Complete the Application Form and Submit It to Food Permits
Submit a copy of your weekly menus with the completed Supply Food To Educational Institutions Form. The form names the designated PIC from the food supplier and the PIC appointed by the school, who must be able to review food safety and nutrition requirements. Items sent for approval outside the cycle menu are not accepted, except for vending machines or canteens with regular items all year. Annex 15 explains how to fill in the form, section by section:
- General information (the school, the supplier, the PICs, the menu cycle)
- Weeks 1 to 4 of the menu
- Entrée snacks and snacks
- Drinks
The form checks your menu against the guideline's primary requirements (weekly cycle menu, kind of menu items, food types, food groups) and its nutrition requirements (per 100 g criteria, per-serving criteria and the Smart Choices classification).
Step 2: Approved Menu Issuance
The Food Safety Department reviews the form and weekly menus. If the menu items comply, it issues the official Approved Menu document through Food Permits.
Step 3: Approved Menu Digitization
Once you receive the Approved Menu, your PIC in the canteen uploads it, together with the submitted menu for that week, on the school's QR code on Foodwatch.
Preparing a Menu That Can Be Approved
Most of the work is in the menu itself. Section 3.3 of the guideline sets out the core requirements:
- Weekly menu cycle: at least four weekly cycle menus must be rotated, and two to three seasonal menus are recommended. Menus are submitted in 4-week batches, with values entered per 100 g for each component as applicable.
- Kinds of menu items: each item must fit a defined kind: main dish, main dish combo, full meal combo, entrée snack, snack or beverage. For main dishes and combos, each component is declared per 100 g with its nutrients of concern, then the dish is evaluated as a whole per 100 g and per serving against the age-group criteria.
- Weight limits by food type: 40 g for pre-packaged products, 60 g for bakery and dessert items and 100 g for other savoury foods. Catered mains and entrées have no set weight limit.
- Food groups: each main dish must include at least three food groups, with protein, grains and vegetables as the main components.
- Smart Choices classification: items are classified by nutritional value, which determines how often they can appear. See our Smart Food Choices guide for details.
Nutrition information
Clause 3.2.2.5 requires suppliers to assess the nutrition of all their products from the recipe, including ingredients and quantities, and to share it with the Food Safety Department, schools or other authorities when asked. Under clause 3.2.2.7 you can get the values from nutrient analysis software, from a laboratory approved by the Food Safety Department, or by manual calculation from known ingredient values or accepted data. For manual calculations, the guideline points suppliers to the Applied Nutrition and Awareness Section at nutrition@dm.gov.ae. Schools should also hold nutrition and allergen information from their suppliers for labelling, documentation and verification (clause 3.2.1.7).
Allergens
Clause 3.4.9 requires every meal to show any allergen present as a main ingredient, compound ingredient, additive or processing aid. Allergens must be labelled or declared on the menu no matter how small the amount. The guideline lists nine allergens recognised by the Food Safety Department: crustaceans, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts, sesame seeds, fish, egg, milk, and gluten and cereals containing gluten (Kamut, wheat, oats, rye, barley and spelt), each including their products.
Menu Changes and the Scope of Your Permit
This is where new suppliers most often get caught out, so read these clauses carefully:
- Any change needs re-approval. Clause 3.2.1.3 states that any change to the Approved Menu requires another approval from Dubai Municipality. The guideline does not exempt "minor" changes.
- Approvals follow the school term. New or reformulated items are approved only at the end of each term, to take effect the following term (clause 3.2.2.3).
- Recipe changes trigger revalidation. Clause 3.2.2.6 requires suppliers to revalidate and get approval for nutrition information whenever products, ingredients, proportions or serving sizes change.
- Only approved food may be sold. Suppliers may not provide any food not approved by the Food Safety Department (clause 3.2.2.4), and schools must make sure only the foods listed in the permit are sold (clause 3.2.1.3).
The guideline does not describe a single approval that covers every school in Dubai. The application form names a specific school and its PIC. The PIC is assigned to that school's canteen, and the Approved Menu is uploaded on that school's QR code. So treat each school contract as needing its own Approved Menu, and confirm with Food Permits before you start supplying another school.
Obligations After Approval
Approval is the start of ongoing compliance, not the end:
- Training: Basic Food Hygiene Training is mandatory for all food handlers. Managers and PICs should also complete the relevant PIC training (clause 3.5.1). My School Food runs a Nutrition In-Charge Training Program for suppliers and school management.
- Self-monitoring: the food supplier's PIC must carry out canteen self-monitoring monthly, and production facilities are also subject to self-monitoring (clause 3.5.2).
- Inspections: 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. Inspections cover food safety and nutrition, and any change in supplier, process or product (clause 3.5.2).
- Food safety practice: all suppliers must follow the guideline's 10 Points To Food Safety, which include supplier management and allergen management (clause 3.4.10).
Dubai Municipality says it combines field visits to school canteens with monitoring on DM Checked. Where it finds non-compliance, it can withdraw non-conforming products, prohibit their circulation and require corrective action.
The guideline does not publish application fees or processing times. Ask Dubai Municipality directly rather than relying on third-party estimates, and plan around the end-of-term approval window for any menu changes.
Keeping Menu Documentation Manageable
For a caterer, the hardest part is keeping recipe-based nutrition values, per-serving figures and allergen declarations accurate across a four-week cycle, and updating them every time a recipe, ingredient or portion changes. Software is one of the three calculation methods the guideline allows. Whatever method you use, the output still has to meet the guideline's criteria and pass the Food Safety Department's review.
Build your school menu documentation in one place
RecipeBuilder calculates menu nutrition from USDA FoodData Central data, gives per-serving values for each recipe, generates allergen declarations, produces bilingual English/Arabic labels and tracks recipe costing. When you change an ingredient or portion, the figures update so you can prepare a revalidation. Book a call to see how it fits your school menu workflow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does one approval let me supply any school in Dubai?
The guideline does not describe an emirate-wide approval. You must meet the supplier criteria in clause 3.2.1.2. The Food Permit To Educational Institutions is then tied to an Approved Menu, and the application form names a specific school and its PIC. That menu is uploaded on that school's QR code, and schools must make sure only foods listed in the permit are sold. Plan for an Approved Menu for each school you supply, and confirm the scope with Dubai Municipality's Food Permits before starting at a new school.
Do I need re-approval if I change an item on my approved menu?
Yes. Clause 3.2.1.3 says any change to the Approved Menu requires another approval from Dubai Municipality, and clause 3.2.2.6 requires revalidation whenever products, ingredients, proportions or serving sizes change. New or reformulated items are approved only at the end of each term, to take effect the next term. Until then, you may only serve the items already approved.
What food safety grade does a school food supplier need?
The guideline requires a verifiable inspection grade of A or B from Dubai Municipality's Food Inspection Section. You also need a trade license covering the relevant activity, facilities that meet the Dubai Food Code, an independent third-party food safety audit, a trained PIC present on every shift, Food Safety Department approval of your canteen or production facility layout and processes, and a compliance history with no major violations.
How long does approval take and what does it cost?
The guideline does not publish processing times or fees, so contact Dubai Municipality for current figures. The one timing rule it does set: new or reformulated menu items are approved only at the end of each term, for the following term. Leave enough time before a term starts to get your supplier criteria in place and your weekly menus approved.
Related Resources
- Dubai Food and Nutrition Guidelines and Requirements in Educational Institutions (Dubai Municipality, PDF)
- My School Food: resources for food suppliers
- Dubai Municipality School Food Requirements: 2026 Guide for Caterers
- Dubai Smart Food Choices for Schools: Green, Amber, Red & Black
- NutriCheck and Nutrition in Charge: Dubai School Canteen Self-Audits
- RecipeBuilder for School Catering in Dubai
- Recipe Management