Health Ministry approves new regulations on radioactive isotope limits in food, drinking water, and animal feed

Minister of Health Dr. Ahmed Abdulawadi issued Ministerial Decision No. 333 of 2026 concerning the approval of the regulations on the limits of radioactive isotope concentrations in food, drinking water, and animal feed, as part of efforts to regulate permissible levels of radioactivity and strengthen supervisory measures on local and imported products.

The decision set the permissible limits for radioactive isotope concentrations in drinking water at 0.5 becquerels per liter for alpha-emitting isotopes and 1 becquerel per liter for beta-emitting isotopes, with an exception for the isotope Potassium-40 (K-40).

The decision stipulated that necessary supervisory measures be taken, in coordination with relevant authorities, in cases where concentrations exceed the established limits, with regard to both local and imported foods.

The regulations also specify maximum limits for radioactive isotope concentrations in food according to the type of isotope and food category, along with a maximum limit for the total radioactivity of non-natural isotopes in animal feed, set at 300 becquerels per kilogram.