1. New food safety controls in Abu Dhabi
Mahmoud Habboush
• Last Updated: April 21. 2008 4:11PM UAE / April 21. 2008 12:11PM GMT
Joby Joseph prepares nutritious meals for home delivery at the Bite Rite Cafe in Abu Dhabi. This
week, the Government revealed new food safety controls and standards. Ryan Carter / The
National
The Government announced plans to tighten food safety controls during a Food Control
Authority (FCA) news conference.
The FCA chairman, Rashed al Shariqi, said: “Our goal is to introduce regulations that would
cover all aspects of food safety 100 per cent.”
The authority is the third of 26 government departments to release details of their plans.
On Friday, the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi approved major restructuring plans of its
departments, which will be made public over the coming weeks.
The FCA, which unveiled its five-year strategy during yesterday’s news conference, will
implement 86 projects, such as campaigns to control the use of water.
In May, a law was passed that will see agricultural activities transferred from the Department for
Municipal Affairs to FCA. The transition was scheduled to take one and a half years. By 2009,
agricultural affairs will be fully managed by FCA.
Earlier this month the Abu Dhabi Government announced new legislation dealing with food
safety. The food law, which will come into effect later this year, will introduce tough penalties
and fines of up to Dh200, 000 for handling harmful food.
Mohammed al Reyaysa, the manager of communication and information, said: “We want to
guarantee food safety from the farm to the fork.”