Dubai reforms food inspection mechanism

BY PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 24 Feb 2010

The methods of food inspection system in Dubai are currently being changed, foreseeing the future challenges and external factors associated with the increasing population in the Emirate.

A senior member at Dubai Municipality (DM) said that all the foodstuff establishments in Dubai are required to apply self-identified food control systems and adopt a risk management system, as per the unified food safety mechanism under the new law to be implemented by the year-end.

Ahmed AbdulRahman Al Ali, Head of Food Inspection Unit in the Food Control Department of the DM, said, "More number of private laboratories will be permitted in the Emirate to activate the role of the private sector in the analysis of samples and develop a system to investigate diseases transmitted through food in collaboration with strategic partners."

He revealed that the civic body has completed a pilot study on 37 foodstuff establishments, classifying such enterprises as D or E in order to raise their technical and health standards, curb the rate of food safety violations and stop high-risk violations.

Al Ali was speaking on the food inspection programmes of the Municipality on the second day of the Dubai International Food Safety Conference 2010.

According to him, the revolutionary shift in the food safety inspection system is inspired by unexpected increase of foodstuff establishments, bio-diversity of cultures and dietary habits.

"The civic body is imparting intensive training to inspectors to unify ideas in dealing with irregularities and to determine the impact on the safety of the final product," he noted.

"The new food inspection system will be equipped with innovative technologies, transparency and risk analysis and identification of risk from farm to table. It's being worked out by using the programme of inspection and fines," he said.

"All the measures are implemented through the inputs to the system and classification of activities according to the degree of risks to three levels- low, medium and high risks," added Al Ali.

Experts at the second day of the Dubai International Food Safety Conference 2010 discussed updates on various regulations, measures applied in fishing and poultry as well as latest techniques developed in the field.