Dubai carries out 24,820 food inspections in five months
Daily monitoring of food imports reinforces public health safeguards
Dubai: Dubai carried out 24,820 inspections of food establishments during the first five months of 2026, as the emirate continued to strengthen food safety oversight across a sector comprising more than 26,500 businesses.
Dr. Naseem Rafee, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Environment, Health and Safety Agency at Dubai Municipality, said Dubai had become a leading global model in transforming public health challenges into practical and sustainable solutions aimed at protecting community wellbeing.
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According to Albayan newspaper, Rafee said food safety remains a top priority within Dubai’s development agenda and an integral component of quality of life and public health protection. The municipality has succeeded in raising compliance levels across the emirate’s food sector through a comprehensive regulatory and inspection framework, she added.
Dubai’s ports and entry points receive more than 1,000 food consignments each day, underscoring the scale of the city’s role in regional and international food trade.
According to Rafee, routine monitoring indicators and inspection results have shown high levels of compliance with the stringent health and safety standards enforced by Dubai Municipality. She said the findings reflected the effectiveness of the emirate’s regulatory system and the close cooperation between government authorities and private-sector operators in ensuring the safety and quality of food products available in the market.
Rafee said Dubai Municipality remains committed to strengthening the food safety system in line with the emirate’s vision of becoming a future-focused city with an integrated and sustainable food ecosystem.
Given Dubai’s strategic location as a global economic and trading centre connecting markets across continents, she said the municipality plays a critical role in safeguarding the resilience and continuity of international food supply chains with its responsibilities extending beyond local oversight to ensuring imported and traded food products remain free from food-borne pathogens, thereby helping reduce the health and economic burdens associated with food-borne illnesses both within the UAE and internationally.
