Dubai: The ongoing Dubai Municipality and Unilever Food Solutions free programme to provide over 4,000 restaurants with training and educational resources on hygiene standards that is easy to understand and access has shown positive results.

Unilever Food Solutions, the food service division of Unilever, is raising the bar on food safety across Dubai in partnership with Dubai Municipality through their food safety partnership initiative.

The partnership aims to provide training and educational materials available in different languages to help restaurant management and chefs easily maintain the right hygiene standards in their operations.

“We are very pleased with the results that we are seeing for our food safety training initiative. While our inspector teams and round-the-clock vigilance has netted excellent results, we are aware that sustainable success involves private sector cooperation.” said Khalid Mohammad Sharif, director of the Food Control Department at Dubai Municipality.

He said that with collaborations like this they could raise awareness, build knowledge and motivate staff to fully understand and prevent food-borne hazard risks.

He added, “This partnership combines digital means of easy learning with benefits for all stakeholders to make a genuine difference to health and well-being.”

The campaign material includes multilingual kitchen signs and labels, as well as a free online training module. To access, simply visit the Sustainability section at www.ufs.com.

Lucas Dollfuss, head of marketing, Unilever Food Solutions Middle East, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, said, “Addressing food safety is complex. Chefs across the region tell us that sometimes they are simply not able to give it appropriate attention in their kitchen because they have no easy training materials, and lack time and resources.”

Together with Dubai Municipality, he said, they have developed this free programme to reach over 4,000 restaurants with material that is easy to understand and access.

“Our toolkit reflects not just current best practices but also easy to use tips and guidelines. Food safety is a major concern for both guests and operators. Independent research says that over 66 per cent of guests think quite often about hygiene at the where restaurants they eat. And 78 per cent of chefs believe it is their responsibility, as well as all players in the food service industry, to ensure food safety standards are met,” added Dollfuss.

Myriam Estanboulie, channel marketing manager at Unilever Food Solutions said, “The campaign’s success stems from addressing the concerns of all stakeholders — restaurant owners, guests and chefs, supporting the industry with the right material and ensuring the safety of diners. Finally, the campaign meets Dubai Municipality’s aims of ensuring health and safety while being entirely congruent with the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.”

The groundwork for cooperation between Unilever Food Solutions and Dubai Municipality was first laid on World Health Day on April 7, 2015. Since then, the campaign has spread to a multitude of outlets, cuisines and hospitality establishments.