New way to test cooking oil

Sharjah Municipality will adopt a new method that will allow testing cooking oil to see if it has been used to cook more than one type of food.

The municipality recently used special slides for the first time in the country to check cooking oil and got immediate results without the need to take samples to the laboratories.

It was found out that this method worked if the oil was used for one type of food. It failed to test oil used for more than one variety of food. The municipality is working to adopt another technology to enable checking oil used to cook a variety of food.

The municipality will order food manufacturers and producers, including restaurants and cafeterias, to apply the HACP system which guards against three critical points of danger – biological, physical and chemical.

The system allows immediate control of the three critical points during the manufacturing and preparation phases. It is an internationally recognised system which has been adopted by many Arab countries.

The municipality aims to develop the level of locally produced foodstuff and ensure it is safe. It also wants locally manufactured foodstuff to compete in the international market which is governed by agreements of the World Trade Organisation.

Sharjah Municipality is also keen to impose rules to maintain public health. It recently issued a circular to foodstuff dealers ordering them not to exhibit products and drinking water outside their shops.

The municipality destroyed some quantities of foodstuff like rice which were displayed outside the shops and proved unfit for human consumption. All foodstuff that enter through the emirate's ports are checked in the laboratory before entering the markets.