New food label in Abu Dhabi to help shoppers identify higher-quality chicken
Consumers in the UAE are becoming increasingly selective about the origins and production standards of chicken products, and scrutinising if they meet higher standards for quality and food safety, according to retailers and producers backing Abu Dhabi’s new Premium Food Mark initiative.
The government-backed “Premium Mark” certification, which will appear directly on chilled chicken packaging from June, is designed to help shoppers instantly identify locally produced poultry that exceeds baseline regulatory standards while strengthening the competitiveness of UAE-made products against imported premium brands.
“We believe consumers today are becoming far more conscious about the quality, origin, freshness, and overall standards of the food products they consume, especially in categories like fresh poultry,” said Riyad Jabbar, Director of Lulu Meat & Poultry Division.
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“Shoppers are increasingly asking where their chicken comes from, how it is produced, and whether it meets higher standards of quality, sustainability, and food safety.”
The scheme, launched by the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (ADQCC), introduces a unified “Premium Mark” certification for products that meet advanced technical standards across the poultry value chain, including farming practices, feed quality, sustainability, food safety, inspection, testing, and final product attributes.
“At this stage, the mark will serve as a single high-performance designation, providing consumers with a clear and trusted signal of advanced quality and compliance,” said Bader Alshemaili, Executive Director of Conformity and Standards Services Sector at ADQCC.
Certified products will carry the Premium Mark directly on retail packaging, allowing consumers to identify approved products “clearly and instantly at the point of sale”, he said.
The rollout will begin in phases from June 2026, starting with selected Abu Dhabi poultry producers participating in the pilot launch, subject to successful completion of conformity assessment and certification requirements.
Participation in the programme is voluntary.
“Producers that choose to participate will be required to meet a comprehensive set of technical, operational, and quality standards, verified through conformity assessment, certification, inspection, and ongoing market monitoring to ensure continued compliance,” Alshemaili said.
According to ADQCC, Abu Dhabi currently contributes nearly 60 per cent of the UAE’s fresh poultry output.
The initiative comes as retailers report growing consumer appetite for premium and locally produced food products.
“At LuLu, we are already witnessing strong and growing demand for premium and locally produced poultry products,” Jabbar said.
“Customers today are willing to pay attention to trusted certifications and quality labels, particularly when they are backed by credible government standards.”
He added that the initiative would “further strengthen consumer confidence in UAE-produced poultry and elevate the positioning of local products in the market”.
Producers say many of the standards reflected in the scheme are already embedded within their operations.
“The Premium Food Mark is a positive step for the UAE’s food sector,” said Milana Boskovic, Chief Marketing and R&D Officer at Al Ain Farms Group.
“Local producers have spent decades raising standards across quality, food safety, and traceability, and a national framework that recognises these efforts, while giving consumers a trusted point of reference, benefits industry and consumers alike.”
Boskovic said the technical requirements “closely reflect practices we have already embedded across our operations”.
“Animal welfare, modern production methods, and responsible packaging and distribution are part of how we operate,” she said.
“Meeting the new standards is therefore less about change and more about formalising disciplines we already hold ourselves to.”
Industry players also believe the initiative could help UAE poultry compete more strongly against imported premium brands.
“We firmly believe premium-certified UAE chicken products have tremendous potential to compete strongly with imported premium poultry brands,” Jabbar said.
“The UAE today has world-class production capabilities, very high food safety standards, and strong regulatory frameworks.”
Officials stressed that the Premium Mark differs from the existing Emirates Quality Mark by recognising products that exceed minimum regulatory requirements through enhanced technical specifications, advanced production practices, and additional inspection and monitoring.
While the current phase focuses on locally produced chilled chicken meat, ADQCC said the framework has been designed to expand into additional food categories in future phases, potentially including eggs, red meat, and dairy products.
The authority also said the initiative could eventually support export ambitions by reinforcing the reputation of Abu Dhabi’s food production as “high-quality, reliable, and internationally competitive”.
“While export growth is not the scheme’s primary objective at this stage, the initiative helps build internationally aligned quality infrastructure and demonstrates compliance with advanced quality and safety standards,” Alshemaili said.
