The GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) is a

standards organization A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpr ...

for the member states of the

Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ), is a Regional integration, regional, intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Ba ...

and

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. It was established under the authority of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Its full official name is "The Standardization Organization of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf". It is headquartered in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

and has a branch office in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

. Where no GSO standard already exists, it reviews existing global standards and may adopt them. The GSO's Technical Council mandated the creation of a regional

Metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of Unit of measurement, units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to stan ...

Organization to be called "GULFME". The GSO has also partnered with

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...

. The current secretary-general of the GSO is H.E. Nabil A Molla. A previous secretary-general was Dr. Rashid Ahmed Muhammad Bin Fahad. As of 2010, the GSO has mandated some 2,700 standards. Implementation of these standards is the responsibility of individual member countries of the GCC.

Domains of standards

The GSO's standardization initiatives cover a wide range of domains. These include: *

Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

*Fire protection *

Halal ''Halal'' (; ) is an Arabic word that translates to in English. Although the term ''halal'' is often associated with Islamic dietary laws, particularly meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines, it also governs ethical practices ...

foods * Cigars and cigarettes *

Food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...

Bin Fahad, Dr. Rashid. Presentation. "The Role of GSO on GCC Food Safety". http://www.foodsafetydubai.com/resources/contentfiles/Prev-Conference/DIFSC03.pdf

GSO standards for cigarettes

The GSO has laid down clear standards with regards to two aspects of

cigarettes A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the oppo ...

– product content and

labelling Labelling or using a label is describing someone or something in a word or short phrase. For example, the label "criminal" may be used to describe someone who has broken a law. Labelling theory is a theory in sociology which ascribes labelling ...

and

packaging Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coo ...

of tobacco packages. These are clearly specified in GSO 597/2009 which deals with technical regulation related to cigarettes and GSO 246/2011 which relates to the labelling of packages of tobacco products. Every draft regulation is given to a particular country out of the 6 GCC countries to be prepared and is then approved by the remaining 5 countries. For example, GSO 597/2009 was prepared by

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

while GSO 246/2011 was prepared by

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

. It is GSO 246/2011 regulation that specifies all cigarette packs destined to be sold in GCC should have warnings covering 50% of the front and back principal areas and include from among a set of specified images and text comprising

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

on the front face and English on the rear face.

References

External links

GSO official website (Arabic)GSO official website (English)GULFMET official website
{{authority control Organizations with year of establishment missing Standards organisations in Saudi Arabia International organizations based in the Middle East International economic organizations Intellectual property organizations Supranational unions Continental unions Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty Organisations based in Riyadh Organisations based in Jeddah Gulf Cooperation Council