The Dubai Food Control Department is drafting regulations to implement an integrated ‘farm to fork’ approach on food safety control that increases the legal liability of food producers.
It also places specific responsibilities on the food sector to go through the process to develop more effective self-regulation in food safety management because it’s unrealistic to expect that the government could inspect at all stages of the production process of all producers.
These details were discussed at an educational workshop organised by the department at the recent Sweets Middle East, and Sweet and SnackTec Middle East trade fairs in Dubai.
Bashir Hassan Yousif, acting head of Food Control Department’s Food Studies and Planning Unit, said the guidelines will ensure risk-based preventive measures aimed at preventing food-borne illnesses.
“Our plan is to involve the industry to have a more active role in ensuring food safety,” Yousif told Khaleej Times after the workshop. “Food business operators must show that they have adopted good hygienic practices on their premises, suitable for the purpose, and it shouldn’t be just meeting the minimum requirements of the law.
“We have to understand that the shelf life of a particular food, for example sandwich, can vary depending on the quality of the raw material and the type of process used. A sandwich prepared in hygienic conditions using good quality raw material will have a better shelf life than a product made in unhygienic condition with poor quality ingredients.”
Under the new regulations, he said, manufacturers who maintain high standards of food safety will benefit in terms of longer shelf life.
“Having a printed label for shelf life without proper preparation and handling of food is useless,” said Yousif. “The microbiological quality of the product will be monitored to ensure that manufactures do not put unsatisfactory products in the market.”
There will be different sets of ?risk-based guidelines aimed at manufacturers of locally made foods and beverages like dairy products, meat products, ready-to-eat products, juices and water. Citing dairy products as an example, Yousif said the manufacturers of dairy products should take measures against safety risks from chemicals, antibiotics, pesticides, melamine etc apart from prevention against microorganisms by analysing these risks during each stage of production, storage, transportation and delivery.
“Each sector has different types of risks. We will address all of them separately in separate guidelines.”
The first set of guidelines will focus manufacturers of ready-to-eat foods, dairy products, juices and water. The meat and ready-to-eat products will be the next category.
The department is also implementing a new licensing system to guarantee that not only food handlers but also business owners and senior managers have knowledge of food safety issues.
Source: Khaleej Times
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