DUBAI: Dubai Municipality carried out 52,233 inspection visits in the fields of environment, health, and food during the first half of 2024. These visits were targeted at ensuring that various activities and organisations in the city were adhering to the standards adopted regarding consumer products, food safety, health, and safety, as well as general health, in addition to the approved environmental standards.
Dr. Naseem Mohammad Rafee, Acting CEO of Environment, Health & Safety Agency at Dubai Municipality, highlighted the municipality’s commitment to conducting regular inspection visits and campaigns throughout the year to create a robust food and health ecosystem, as well as a sustainable and conducive environment that supports flexible food supply chains and ensures food security in Dubai.
He said: “Dubai Municipality places a major emphasis on the food, environment, and safety sectors. We constantly strive to develop these sectors and enhance their safety through monitoring to guarantee the highest standards of safety and quality of life in the Emirate. Additionally, we seek to offer a cutting-edge infrastructure that supports the growth of businesses and initiatives while ensuring strict compliance with all the laws, regulations, and guidelines enacted in Dubai and the UAE.”
Health and safety
The municipality’s health and safety teams, which comprises of 95 supervisors, carried out 26,566 inspection visits through six campaigns which were aimed at hotel facilities, shisha cafes, hair salons, beauty centers, worker’s houses, and societal markets. The teams also ensured the safety of public places and buildings, as well as playgrounds and event venues, in addition to industrial and professional enterprises, infrastructure projects and temporary activities.
Additionally, its campaigns targeted at ports evaluated more than 17,000 shipments of consumer products, which is equivalent to 145,000 tons, guaranteeing their adherence to the approved consumer specifications and requirements. It also ensured the compliance of oversighted organizations specialized in consumer products trade to these safety standards.
Food safety
Dubai Municipality’s food safety inspection teams carried out around 18,374 inspections at food establishments across Dubai’s markets, including restaurants, hotels, cafes, as well as commercial centres, hypermarkets, supermarkets, and temporary events, which totalled 31 events. Moreover, there were 2,733 reports in total on food safety.
Furthermore, the number of food establishments in the emirate totalled 25,000 during the first half of 2024, with additional 1,373 new establishments opened in this period.
Environmental sustainability
Dubai Municipality’s environmental teams finished 4,331 inspection visits in total. Out of this, 3,378 of the inspections were of projects, industrial, and service facilities. The Municipality employs a smart inspection system to efficiently plan and carry out environmental monitoring tasks, thereby streamlining its operations. Furthermore, to guarantee that businesses comply with approved environmental laws and legislations, the Municipality is organising a virtual awareness campaign.
It conducted a total of 783 inspections, which were targeted at monitoring the marine environment, observing coastal regions, and gathering samples from the sea. These inspections further ensured that all the projects within these areas comply with the environmental laws and legislation in the Emirate. In addition, campaigns include 170 inspection visits as part of the monitoring program for natural reserves in Dubai.
Public health
The municipality’s teams made around 2,962 visits to ensure that the technical and health regulations were strictly followed. Of these, 2,625 visits were to inspect veterinary facilities, and 337 to public health pest control companies. In addition, it has given 305 No Objection certifications (NOCs) for veterinary-related activities and 1,963 veterinary health certifications for export shipments.
Similarly, it handled a total of 3,305 reports related to stray animals and incidents of non-compliance with animal welfare regulations and institutional rules. Furthermore, it also conducted inspections on around 160,402 slaughtered animals in Dubai’s slaughterhouses, ensuring their safety for human consumption. It additionally examined the arrival of 584,276 livestock and 465,445 tons of animal feed and food through the entry points of the emirate.
The Dubai Central Laboratory of Dubai Municipality has inspected 13,600 legal measuring instruments, such as tire pressure gauges, fuel meters, taxi meters, electronic balances of varying capacities, and pre-packaged products.
The rate of conformity surpassed 99 per cent.
