The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement that joint investigations with the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition led to the seizure of an establishment found to be changing the country of origin on around 60 sheep carcasses. This practice violates provisions of the 2019 law aligned with the GCC unified system for combating commercial fraud, particularly those addressing deception over a product’s true origin. The ministry confirmed that all required legal measures have been applied against the offending shop.
According to the ministry’s announcement, the operation forms part of intensified inspection campaigns designed to protect consumers and uphold market regulations. A similar drive earlier in October produced 48 violation reports in the Sabah Al-Salem area through cooperation among several government entities. These efforts concentrate on verifying pricing accuracy, food safety labelling and overall compliance with commercial standards.
United Nations COMTRADE data places Kuwait’s imports of sheep or goat meat from Pakistan at $1.6 million in 2024. The Observatory of Economic Complexity reported that total sheep and goats imports reached $140 million that year, with major suppliers including Iran, Australia and Saudi Arabia while volumes from Georgia stayed negligible. Such statistics illustrate the scale of the meat trade and the potential impact of origin fraud on fair competition.
The Public Authority for Food and Nutrition has participated in several recent actions against mislabelled or substandard meat supplies. In comparable cases authorities closed facilities for thawing frozen products and selling them as fresh while falsifying labels on origin and type. These repeated interventions demonstrate sustained regulatory focus on supply chain integrity to protect public health.
Inspectors continue to target butcher shops and related outlets where violations involving origin changes or quality issues appear most frequently. The latest action follows the ministry’s pattern of coordinated enforcement with interior and food authorities across multiple governorates. Officials have maintained that such campaigns will persist to deter any form of commercial deception.
The ministry’s statement stressed that coordination among agencies ensures swift responses to reported irregularities in the marketplace. Violators face referral to competent bodies for full application of penalties under existing regulations. The public has been invited to contribute information that aids these ongoing oversight activities.
