19,329 kg of rotten food confiscated in Dubai

By PMA RASHEED

TheGulf Today, 25 July 2010

A total of 19,329 kilogrammes of contaminated fresh food items including fish, meat and fruit items were confiscated by the civic body from the Dubai market during the past 3 months, revealed a Dubai Municipality (DM) official.

Sultan Ali Tahir, head of products monitoring section at DM, said 544,947 fines and warnings have been issued to the violating fresh food establishments, as the DM conducted 2,619 inspection visits during the period.

“The massive amount of rotten fish, meat and vegetables were offered for sale at the stalls at Deira, Al Shindagha and Karama fish markets, retail and wholesale shops at the Al Aweer central vegetables and fruits market, and other storage facilities and food manufacturing units,” he elaborated.

“All the food items found unsafe for human consumption were immediately destroyed by the civic body’s food control department after receiving necessary regulatory measures on the violators,” he added.

Tahir said that the civic body also issued health certificates to about 1,338 fish vendors during the past three months, as the workers’ health cards were a significant part of the civic inspection drive.

According to him, hefty fines were issued on those who were displaying the rotten fish and meat, and spoilt vegetables and fruits for sale.

“The municipal food officers are carrying out a series of inspection visits at various food stores, supermarkets, meat and fish shops to ensure adherence to the civic requirements on food safety and hygienic practices at such outlets,” he noted.

Tahir said the inspection campaign has been intensified since the beginning of the summer in order to get rid of rotten foodstuff, due to the soaring temperatures which may contaminate fresh items if not stored with precautionary measures.

“During the period, the DM has followed up at least 120 complaints from the public on damaged or rotten foods that may harm the consumers’ health. Meanwhile, the number of complaints in the same period last year was 142,” he added.

“Proper maintenance of the food shops, like replacement of old equipment, shelves and platforms were also focused on during the campaign. Cleanliness of dried fish stalls and packaging processes were also monitored to prevent access and the proliferation of insects,” he elaborated.