Bahrain Notifies Gulf Draft Setting Size and Label Rules for Fresh Strawberries

Bahrain maintains comprehensive regulatory frameworks governing strawberry production, importation, and distribution to ensure product safety and quality control.

On Oct. 13, 2026, Bahrain notified a draft Gulf rule setting quality, size and label standards for fresh strawberries.

The notice to the World Trade Organization (WTO) lists Bahrain with the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Yemen¹. The draft comes from the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO), the standards body of the Gulf Cooperation Council states².

In short, fresh strawberries sold in Bahrain would need to be sound, clean and correctly sized. Each package would also need a label showing the class, the net weight and the country of origin.

What is the Gulf strawberry rule?

The draft is called GSO DS/1988:2026, "Strawberries"². GSO Technical Committee No. 5 prepared it². This committee writes the Gulf standards for food and farm products.

The cover page calls it a draft Gulf Technical Regulation, a rule that goods must meet before they can be sold². It says the text is open for comments and may still change. It cannot be used as a Gulf Technical Regulation until GSO approves it².

The inner pages carry the number GSO 1988/2009. This shows the text builds on an earlier Gulf strawberry standard from 2009². Saudi Arabia prepared the draft, according to its foreword².

The WTO number for Bahrain’s notice is G/TBT/N/BHR/795¹. The same draft carries a separate number for each of the other six states, such as G/TBT/N/SAU/1456 for Saudi Arabia¹.

Which strawberries does the draft cover?

The rule covers strawberries of all varieties grown from the plant genus Fragaria L.². It applies only to strawberries supplied fresh to consumers².

Strawberries for industrial processing are left out². This means fruit sent to factories for jam, juice or frozen products falls outside the draft. Fresh fruit packed for shops and markets falls inside it.

The draft also treats wood strawberries, a small wild type, a little differently. They may be sold without the green stalk attached, and they have no minimum size².

Why are Gulf states setting the standard?

The foreword says GSO issues Gulf standards and technical rules through its specialist committees². The draft was based on Arab, international and foreign national standards².

Its reference list names one main model: UNECE standard FFV-35 for strawberries². The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) writes this standard for trade in fresh fruit and vegetables.

Many growers who already pack to the UNECE grades will find the Gulf classes familiar. The Gulf draft adds links to Gulf rules on pesticides, germs, packing and labels.

What must every strawberry shipment meet?

The draft sets basic requirements for all classes. The fruit must be²:

• Intact and sound, with any rotten or damaged fruit removed.
• Clean, with practically no visible foreign matter.
• Fresh in appearance but not washed.
• Practically free from pests and from damage caused by pests.
• With the green cap and stalk attached, except wood strawberries. The cap and any stalk must be fresh and green.
• Free of abnormal outside moisture, and of any foreign smell or taste.
• Ripe enough, and in good enough condition to travel and arrive in good shape.

These basic tests apply alongside GSO 123, the Gulf general rule for fresh fruit and vegetables².

What limits apply to pesticides and germs?

The draft also links the fruit to Gulf safety limits. Pesticide residues must not exceed the limits in GSO 382, the Gulf rule on maximum pesticide residues in farm food².

Germ levels must stay within the limits of GSO 1016, the Gulf rule on microbe limits in food². Other harmful substances must stay within GSO 193, the Gulf rule on contaminants and toxins in food².

Growers and packers must also follow good hygiene practice. The draft points to the Gulf code of hygienic practice for fresh fruits and vegetables². In practice, a shipment that passes the quality checks could still be stopped if lab tests find residues above these limits.

How are strawberries graded and sized?

The draft sorts strawberries into three quality classes². It marks this section as optional, but the class must still appear on the label².

The three classes are²:

• Extra class: superior fruit, bright and free from soil. Only very slight surface defects are allowed.
• Class I: good fruit with slight defects in shape, slight pressure marks, and a small white patch. The patch may cover at most one-tenth of the fruit’s surface.
• Class II: fruit that meets the basic requirements only. It may have shape defects, slight dry bruising and slight traces of soil. A white patch may cover up to one-fifth of the surface.

Size is measured as the widest diameter across the middle of the fruit². The minimum size is 25 mm for Extra class and 18 mm for Classes I and II².

How much faulty fruit is allowed?

The draft allows a small share of fruit in each package to miss its class. This allowance is called a tolerance².

In Extra class, up to 5% by number or weight may fall short, as long as it meets Class I². Of that 5%, no more than 0.5% may be spoilt fruit².

In Class I, up to 10% may fall short, as long as it meets Class II². In Class II, up to 10% may miss even the basic requirements, but rotten fruit is not allowed in this share². In both classes, no more than 2% may be spoilt fruit².

For size, all classes allow 10% by number or weight of fruit below the minimum size².

What must the strawberry label show?

Each package must carry a label with five items²:

1. The name of the produce.
2. The class, Extra, I or II.
3. The net weight.
4. The country of origin.
5. The name and address of the packer or the sender.

These items come on top of the Gulf labelling rules GSO 9 for prepackaged food and GSO 2749 for prepackaged fruit and vegetables².

Packing must follow GSO 124 on fruit and vegetable boxes, GSO ISO 7558 on prepacking, and GSO 839 on food packages². Transport and storage must follow GSO 323 for chilled and frozen food².

How will inspectors check a shipment?

Samples must be taken under GSO 125, the Gulf method for sampling fresh fruit and vegetables². Tests are then carried out on a representative sample².

Net weight, foreign matter and faulty fruit are checked under GSO 244, the Gulf test method for fruit and vegetables². For exporters, this means each box is judged against its stated class. A box labelled Extra class with too many small or marked berries would fail.

Who is affected and what happens next?

Growers and packers abroad who ship fresh strawberries to Bahrain are the main group affected. Importers in Bahrain would need to check that labels show the class and origin. Fruit sold for processing would not be touched.

The notice was dated Oct. 13, 2026¹. The draft does not yet give an adoption date. The GSO Board of Directors must still approve it at a meeting, and that date is left blank in the text². Until then, the text may change after comments from WTO members.

Key points on the Gulf strawberry standard

The table sums up the draft as it stands.

Until the GSO board approves the draft, its details can still change. Once approved, every package of fresh strawberries entering Bahrain would need to meet the size limits and carry the five label items.

Sources

1. ↩ TBT notifications – EVS standard evs.ee | en https://www.evs.ee/en/wtonotifications/tbtnotifications
2. ↩ Microsoft Word – GSO-1988-2009-E https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2026/TBT/SAU/26_05363_00_e.pdf