Dubai: For the first time, diners in Dubai have the options of savouring food at over 300 eateries that have scored a gold rating from Dubai Municipality even as the civic body temporarily closed 163 outlets for poor hygiene and maintenance.
The gold rating has been introduced for eateries that have gone beyond the expectations and scored above the excellent (A grade) rating in the risk-based food safety inspection system implemented since last June.
“It is for the first time, after applying the new system, that food outlets are getting above excellent rating. Because of that we have put a new grade, that is the gold rating (A +), and 312 food outlets received this rating,” Sultan Ali Al Taher, head of Food Inspection Section, said in a statement on Tuesday.
He noted that the number of food establishments that received high rating has increased from the same period last year.
The food inspection team carried out 23,983 inspection visits at the food outlets operating in Dubai during the first nine months of this year, of which 17,971 were routine visits, he said.
The municipality received reports on 1,886 food outlets during the period between January 1 until the end of September. “We have closed 163 food outlets temporarily due to maintenance and hygiene issues during the same period,” said Al Taher.
He stated that the assessment of food establishments has been changed after applying the new system, which depends on the risk of violations. “In this assessment, 1,084 food outlets received the rating of excellent (A) during the period between January and September. It was for the first time that more than 1,000 food outlets were getting excellent [rating] as the new system has contributed to the modification of the conditions in the outlets and they improved their performance.”
As many as 7,052 outlets secured a rating of very good (B), as compared to 3,776 outlets during the same period last year, while 9,162 outlets received good (C) rating, as compared to 9,164 shops in 2015. However, some 670 outlets got the ratings of acceptable (D) and weak (E), as compared to 676 last year.
“The new system for evaluating food outlets relies on the fact that they receive full points in the checklist, and every violation reduces these points.”
In the risk-based inspection system, the inspector decides to give the outlet any of the four colour-coded cards. Red card is issued for hazardous violations, which means the outlet should amend the condition no later than three days. Yellow card is issued for violations that do not directly affect the safety of food, and after taking corrective measures, these shops will get a white card, until the date for the next inspection visit. The outlets that meet all the conditions get a green card.
