Dubai: Fish and other seafood captured in UAE waters are safe for consumption, said a senior Ministry Climate Change and Environment official (MOCCAE), brushing aside rumours that water pollution is affecting the quality of seafood.
Refuting rumours circulating on social media, Salah Abdullah Al Rayeesi, Director of the Sustainability of Marine and Coastal Environments at MOCCAE, reaffirmed that specialised teams regularly monitor water quality in the UAE through sampling and analysis to ensure that it’s free from any substances that affect the public’s health.
He also confirmed that an external auditing team carried out inspection visits to all fish markets last Thursday to examine the fish, and assured the public that there is no harm in consuming local and imported sea food.
Al Rayeesi said that UAE has given the food safety issue much attention and has over the past years strengthened its legislative and institutional frameworks related to food safety.
He added that the UAE has developed integrated and effective control systems on food products, both domestic and imported, including the development of laboratories, while tightening food safety and control measures on food establishments and workers to ensure the highest level of food safety in the country.
He pointed out that the food safety rating in the UAE has increased in the last three years to reach 98 per cent in 2016.
Calling on community members not to be swayed by unreliable news or rumors about food safety he urged all residents to refrain from raising unwarranted concerns without verifying their authenticity from reliable official sources, stressing that the MOCCAE, as well as the UAE food safety authorities, welcome all public inquiries and respond to them directly.
