Mislabelled Food Products Face Fines of Up to MVR 1 Million Under New MFDA Rules

MALE’ — The Maldives Food and Drug Authority has published new regulations on food packaging and labelling that allow fines of up to MVR 1 million for businesses that mislabel products sold, imported or exported in the Maldives.

The regulations set out a tiered penalty structure. Selling food with misleading labels carries a fine of between MVR 10,000 and MVR 750,000, along with the possibility of licence suspension or cancellation. Breaching labelling standards draws a fine of between MVR 10,000 and MVR 1 million. Businesses that commit violations five or more times face the maximum MVR 1 million fine and risk losing their licence or registration outright. Packaging standard violations carry lower penalties, ranging from MVR 5,000 to MVR 100,000.

Before any penalty is imposed, businesses must be given three days to correct the violation. However, the MFDA retains discretion to impose the maximum fine from the first offence if it considers the breach serious enough.

The regulations cover food produced locally as well as goods imported and exported through the Maldives.