Dubai: With the nine-day Eid public holiday approaching, the civic body is beefing up its food safety measures across the city, particularly against the summer heat.
“We have already drawn up a comprehensive plan to meet the requirements of the Eid Al Fitr holidays, and have intensified our inspections in restaurants and cafeterias as well as public kitchens,” said Sultan Ali Tahir , Head of Food Inspection Section at Food Control Department, Dubai Municipality.
Restaurant franchises in shopping centres account for 15 per cent of food outlets in the city, according to Dubai Municipality statistics.
“We expect a surge of food orders and deliveries during the holidays, and that is why our food inspectors are not taking any chances when it comes to the health and safety of the public,” he said.
Tahir explained that during the summer, certain types of ingredients are more prone to spoiling at a fast rate, such as dairy products, and those products will be on the inspector’s list of priorities.
In its preparation for Eid, the municipality has also cleaned up all the musallas and public parks, to cater to the large number of families expected to take part in the Eid celebration in the six large parks and 100 residential parks across Dubai.
Dubai Municipality has also coordinated and set up an emergency plan with the Civil Defence to tackle any fire accidents that may occur.
There are 100 residential parks and six large parks, including Mushrif Park, Zabeel Park, Safa Park and Creek Park, which will remain open from 8am to 11pm. The lagoon and neighbourhood parks in Deira and Bur Dubai will be open to visitors from 8am to midnight during the Eid holidays.
“Every Eid, we conduct awareness campaigns to ensure that the level of hygiene is maintained in abattoirs. We strictly monitor every stage of the slaughter,” said Ahmad Hassan Shammari, head of Dubai Abattoirs Section.
