Abu Dhabi Gets Tough on Hygiene Rules

Specific food safety norms have been laid down by ADFCA and in order to tighten the loop, inspectors carried out field operations in the capital city. A number of shopkeepers at the Mina Fruit and vegetable market in Abu Dhabi were warned as they failed to comply the prescribed safety standards for food. Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFA) has also fined some of the violators. The ADFCA has inspected a lot of shopping centers at different places; however, most of them including vegetable and fruit market were adhering to the specified rules. The ADFCA inspectors were accompanied by a team of photographers and reporters with them.

The spokesperson of the ADFCA, Mohammed Jalal Al Reyaysa said, “We fined shopkeepers as they left rotten goods inside the shop and put commodities disorganized which led to decaying of other food products. This is against the prescribed hygiene conditions.” According to him, “We fined a shopkeeper at a shopping centre in Khaldiya area as its workers failed to refrigerate goods properly and not keeping eggs under required temperature of 4-10 degrees Celsius. They put it outside the refrigerator. We also found insects inside the shop.”

There are training courses going on and the authority is currently planning to complete these courses in the area of food safety so that they can be trained on how to maintain food safety and provide it to the end users in healthy conditions. This process is being carried out time and again for food dealers and handlers. ADFCA has allocated a committee in order to keep a check on the development of an electronic food screening system in order to determine its effectiveness. Currently the authority is planning to introduce an electronic food inspection system which is called Shahama in the emirate and ‘PDA’ in Bani Yas. Later this year, this same project will also be implemented in the Western Region of the emirate.