Abu Dhabi catering companies under the scanner

Abu Dhabi: Catering services that dish out daily meals to labour camps and companies in the capital are under the scanner after more than 100 workers suffered food poisoning last week.

The workers from a Mussafah labour accommodation were hospitalised after allegedly consuming food supplied by their company. The men were treated for vomiting and diarrhoea at a private hospital and later discharged.

Following the incident, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) has raised a red alert over food safety and hygiene standards followed by catering companies that feed labourers and company employees.

“We have inspectors on the field checking various aspects of food safety and hygiene. These include cooking, storage and transportation,” Mohammad Jalal Al Rayssi, Director of Communication and Community Service at ADFCA, told XPRESS.

Ongoing investigation

Referring to the food poisoning incident, he said food samples have been collected from the company and investigations are ongoing. He added companies have been advised to use the services of registered catering companies.

“Some companies depend on small cafeterias that cannot handle huge orders. Their inefficiency in handling big orders often results in food contamination,” said Al Rayssi.

Catering companies supply food on yearly contracts to corporates. There are big companies that supply 20,000 to 30,000 meals a day in Abu Dhabi. Small players often have daily orders of 2,000 to 5,000.

While many workers who spoke to XPRESS complained of bad and tasteless food, catering companies insisted they follow stringent safety and hygiene regulations.

Venugopal, general manager of Southern Food Catering Services, said his company follows ISO-certified good practices in food hygiene.

“We have a procedure in place where we conduct risk assessment of food, and identify central control points to ensure top quality and hygiene,” he said.

According to him, they supply 30,000 meals a day from their kitchens in various parts of the UAE.

Another catering company, Al Ruman Foods and Catering that operates kitchens in the Shabia and Sanaa areas of Abu Dhabi, said they take utmost care in preparing and storing food.

The company said food is stored and transported in hot cabinets in which a temperature of 75 degrees is maintained.

“Preparation for breakfast starts at 3am and for lunch around 7am. We have special cabinets where food is stored. Vehicles that transport food to worksites are equipped with hot cabinets,” said Mohammed Rashid, who handles finance administration.

No individual meals

He said Al Ruman does not supply meals in individual packets because it is too risky.

“We do not know when they will consume food supplied in individual packets. So we have a buffet system where employees fill their plates from hot containers in which we keep food for the designated amount of people,” said Rashid.

Some companies that supply individual meal packets at work sites said their contracts categorically states that food should be consumed within one hour.

“It is in our contract that meal packets should be consumed within an hour. Food poisoning incidents often happen when workers have a late meal, and the packed food may have already got spoilt,” said Binil Sasidharan, of Ruchi Hospitality and Catering.

Despite the tall claims of hygiene and safety made by various companies, the ground reality seems to be different.

Many labourers said good food is a luxury they can only dream of. “What we eat every day is basic daal, chaawal and sabzi (rice, lentil and vegetables). We cannot afford to complain about taste,” said Jayan lal, a worker from Andhra Pradesh.

Navjeet Singh, a worker from Punjab, said only a few people are lucky get hot meals in the afternoon at the worksite.

“Most of us don’t like the food, but we eat what we get without making a fuss about it as we have no choice,” said Singh.

You speak:

What should be done to improve food safety among workers?

Write to us at:

editor@xpress4me.com

www.xpress4me.com

sms 5101