UAE | Heritage and Culture

How to eat safe during Ramadan

The second phase of Dubai Municipality's food safety campaign will focus on Iftar meals during Ramadan.

  • By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:21 August 17, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Supplied Picture
  • People should know the concept of food safety and how to deal with food. They should know the main problems ..., says Khalid Sharif Al Awadi, Director of food control department.

Dubai: The second phase of Dubai Municipality's food safety campaign will focus on Iftar meals during Ramadan.

Ramadan tents will be inspected by the municipality to ensure that food hygiene standards are being met.

Khalid Sharif Al Awadi, director of the food control department at the municipality, said: "We will have a food safety programme during Ramadan. For Iftar meals, we will concentrate on activities in hotels and restaurants that have tents. The inspections will be according to the law on hygiene standards."

Al Awadi continued that guidelines have been distributed to restaurants and hotels that will be erecting temporary tents, detailing how different types of food should be kept and served.

"In places with this temporary activity, food should be temperature-controlled depending on what type of food it is: whether it is hot or cold," he said.

Dubai Municipality launched the first phase of its food safety campaign in April, under the banner "Food Safety is Our Priority", which aimed to raise public awareness of food safety.

It also aimed to dispel rumours concerning food content and colouring, educate the public on food additives, highlight the importance of preserving food and provide reasons for the use of additives and colouring and their safety.

Inspections were intensified for promotional events, such as Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises, and included vegetable and fruit markets as well as butcheries outside abattoirs.

Iftar in the home will also be the focus of the second phase of the campaign.

"During Ramadan the second phase of the food safety campaign will be awareness, how to protect food during Ramadan, especially in the home with regards to how to store food," Al Awadi said.

"People should know the concept of food safety and how to deal with food. They should know the main problems, how to avoid food contamination and what to do when you are preparing food.

"We want to show people that food control is important and we will be increasing awareness on this issue," he said.

Al Awadi continued that the second phase is being run as a result of the successes of the first phase, and the interest it generated among the public.

The second phase of the project will start on September 1.

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