UAE | Health
Experts to investigate food safety
Source countries' methods under spotlight as UAE imports 90 per cent of its foodstuffs.
- By Dina Aboul Hosn, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 December 22, 2010
Dubai: Experts from 53 countries will discuss food safety in the emerging economies at the Sixth Dubai International Food Safety Conference.
Held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Chairman of Dubai Municipality, the conference will consider handling and hygiene in the source countries, since 90 per cent of food eaten in the UAE is imported.
It will be held from 27 February to 2 March at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre coinciding with the Gulf Food Exhibition.
Engineer Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, on Tuesday announced the activities of the conference in the presence of Khalid Mohammed Sharif, Director of Food Control Department and Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Conference.
According to Lootah, the records on food safety in Dubai are good, judging by information received from hospitals and medical centres on food poisoning, although the number of food establishments has increased from 11,752 in 2009 to 13,761 in 2010.
"The UAE imports more than 90 per cent of the foods consumed in the country and 80 per cent of this is imported through Dubai," Lootah said, adding that foods imported from six of the main emerging economies reached 58 per cent in 2010.
"Food systems in some of these emerging countries are not always as well organised and developed as in the industrialised world," he said.
He said urbanisation may also have complicated the situation, by changing people's traditional ways of food handling.
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