Dubai: The UAE has made significant progress in its food safety rating over the past three years, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment announced on Saturday.
The steps that have boosted food safety include the monitoring of imported food, training of both food establishment employees and inspectors and the use of an electronic inspection system.
Further improvements were made through a collaboration with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. The ministry uses a framework of 87 components through which the extent of improvement in all aspects concerning food safety systems is identified. These include legislation and control systems and a marking system for the effectiveness of food laboratories. As a result, the food safety rating in the UAE has seen a 24 per cent increase in the last three years, compared to 74 per cent in 2013.
The “tangible increase” was also achieved through strengthened “channels of communication with consumers, regulators and stakeholders”, said Majd Mohammad Al Herbawi, the food safety department director at the ministry.
Gains in the safety rating were also made through exercising “control on food relocation, storage and retail facilities, as well as implementing awareness programmes for consumers about best practices in handling food,” she added.
