Dubai: Dubai Municipality is overseeing 72,108 mandatory hygiene persons in charge (PICs) in food establishments across the emirate, it was announced on Tuesday.
“PICs are subject to specialised training courses by Dubai Municipality at three levels according to the activities of the food establishments and their classifications (high, medium, and low risk), and a certificate is awarded after successfully passing the test to exercise their roles and responsibilities,” said Jehaina Hassan Al Ali, Acting Manager, Permits and Applied Nutrition Section.
“We confirm the commitment of all food establishments, to authorise a responsible PIC, who has received appropriate training and holds a certificate in food safety. This PIC effectively manages food safety practices in the establishment and is responsible for all employees and customers of the establishment following the established policies and procedures to ensure food safety,” said Al Ali.
“The role of the PIC, who is the link between establishment and Dubai Municipality, is to supervise all daily operations related to the safety of preparing, displaying and transporting food with an inspection checklist approved by the Municipality’s Food Safety Department and share daily reports via the interactive Foodwatch platform. The supervisor should also follow up the application of the necessary corrective measures in case there are violations monitored by the responsible inspector during routine inspection visits and should also communicate with the inspector what action has been taken through the smart inspection system,” she explained.
It is also one of the roles of the PIC to train the employees of the food establishment about the basics of food hygiene and safety and adhering to the conditions issued by Dubai Municipality, Al Ali pointed out.
“The PIC Program experience has achieved excellent results as the Municipality statistics show that the hygiene evaluation levels of the establishments has been very high in the inspection system. It is noted that the percentage of food establishments that have a rating of A and B has been increased. This is one of the main objectives of the implementation of the program, in addition to the responsibilities of the hygiene supervisor in implementing food safety management systems,” she said.
