While the old superstition says to throw salt over your shoulder, Abu Dhabi is taking a more practical approach to avoid bad luck: keep the salt on the plate, make it a little healthier and call it a win.
A new mandate from the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi (DCT) came into effect as of 1 October, requiring restaurants, hotels, cafés, bars and quick-service food outlets across the emirate to swap standard sodium chloride for potassium-enriched salt.
The announcement was first made in July 2026, allowing a three-month grace period for the industry to prepare for the change. As of this month, businesses that don’t comply may face penalties.
The new requirements apply to salt served to customers in all its forms, even through saltshakers, sachets, or packets. All must now contain a minimum of 25% potassium chloride (KCl), helping make a small but meaningful change to what lands on the table.
The salt is only part of the update for healthier tourists and residents.
All hotel restaurants and food and beverage outlets operating under a valid DCT Abu Dhabi-issued Tourism license, excluding a specified exempt list, must also offer a minimum of one healthy option under each menu category, from appetisers and mains, all the way to desserts.
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Lower in fat, sugar and salt and higher in nutritional value is what those items must be.
Children’s menus get an even bigger push towards healthier eating habits, with a minimum of 50 percent of all items required to qualify as healthy options, under the approved SEHHI criteria, in accordance with guidance from the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC).
