# UAE MoHAP / Health-Authority Foodborne Outbreak Reporting — Verified Research Notes **Source access date:** 19-Aug-2026. This note distinguishes the statutory communicable-disease reporting regime from food-establishment food-safety notification. The controlling Arabic text and any current schedule amendment prevail. ## 1. Statutory deadline — Federal Law No. 14 of 2014 on Control of Communicable Diseases Article 4 requires physicians, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other medical professionals in public/private sectors who know or suspect infection or death from a **Group A Schedule 1 communicable disease** to notify the body they follow **immediately and no later than 24 hours**. Article 4 also requires the following to immediately notify the Ministry or nearest Health Body when they know/suspect a Group A Schedule 1 case: adult contacts; the immediate work/study supervisor; certain transport personnel; and the manager of a punitive facility, hotel, **camp**, orphanage, tourist gathering or other gathering where the patient/suspected person is present. Article 5 requires the Ministry, Health Body and private Health Facilities to notify the concerned department on discovery of a Schedule 1 communicable disease: **immediately and no later than 24 hours** for Group A diseases, and **no later than seven days** for Group B diseases. The law explicitly addresses a foodborne-outbreak-like situation. Article 7 states that if numerous infections with diarrhoea, abnormal vomiting, food/beverage poisoning of unknown cause, or undiagnosed fever spread in an area or population group, the Ministry and Health Body must take necessary measures and coordinate with relevant bodies. It does not state a different separate numeric reporting deadline for this generic event. Article 17 permits Ministry/Health Body measures including destruction or safe disposal of food/beverages/materials confirmed contaminated with a food-/beverage-transmitted disease agent, and prohibition on trading product until it is shown free of pathogen and required health procedures are taken. **Primary source:** https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1198 ## 2. Statutory channels and method — Cabinet Resolution No. 33 of 2016 (Executive Regulations) Article 2 repeats the Group A medical-professional deadline: report immediately, no later than 24 hours, to the affiliated Health Authority using the designated reporting form. The form must contain the injured person, reporter and medical-condition information specified by the regulation. For Article 4(2) categories (including a camp manager), the Executive Regulations say to immediately report the injury/death from a Group A disease to the **nearest Health Authority**, using any reporting method: writing, telephone, fax or other electronic means. The health authority obtains the information/data for the formal report. Article 3 requires health authorities and private health institutions to report to their affiliated **competent department** within 24 hours for Group A and seven days for Group B. Reporting may be fax, electronic means, other written method, or **telephone in urgent cases**, with later written confirmation. The health authority must act immediately on the written report. **Primary source:** https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1197 ## 3. Food establishment / camp duty is separate Federal Food Safety Law No. 10 of 2015 requires the officer in charge of a food organisation to notify Ministry/competent authorities about any food under their supervision posing consumer-health risk, to track food and identify distribution/storage locations, and to withdraw/recover invalid/non-compliant food and notify the competent authority and Ministry. The provision requires notification but does **not** state a fixed 24-hour or seven-day period; operationally it should be treated as immediate food-safety escalation, while case-specific authority direction applies. **Primary source:** https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1161/download ## 4. Practical local authority channel distinction The UAE Government portal says private-sector medical facilities in Dubai submit infectious-disease notification to DHA. A DHA official circular says private health facilities must report infectious diseases, including foodborne diseases, through DHA’s online Infectious Disease Notification System. This is a health-facility obligation, not a substitute for the camp manager’s nearest-health-authority notification or the food-establishment officer’s food-safety notification. The official UAE emergency portal identifies Dubai Municipality **800900** and **foodpoisoning@dm.gov.ae** for food-safety issues. ADAFSA public information identifies Abu Dhabi Government **800555** for reporting suspected food establishment non-compliance/suspicious food content. These food-authority channels supplement—rather than replace—the health-authority statutory reporting route where a Schedule 1 communicable disease is known/suspected. **Sources:** - https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/health-and-fitness/combatting-communicable-diseases - https://services.dha.gov.ae/sheryan/wps/portal/home/circular-details?circularRefNo=CIR-2016-SHN0685&isPublicCircular=1&fromHome=true - https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law/handling-emergencies - https://www.adafsa.gov.ae/en/mediahub/news/Pages/World-Food-Safety-Day.aspx ## 5. Critical legal boundary A generic “foodborne outbreak” does not automatically identify whether the suspected disease is Schedule 1 Group A (24 hours) or Group B (seven days). The current Schedule 1 classification for the diagnosed/suspected causative disease must be confirmed with the applicable health authority. In practice, a camp should not wait for classification: it should immediately secure medical care, isolate the food/water source, preserve evidence, notify the competent food authority of food risk and contact the nearest health authority for direction. ## 6. Penalty note Federal Law Article 36 states that violation of Article 4 reporting duties may be punished by imprisonment and/or a fine of up to AED 10,000. Other laws/authority measures may also apply.