Dubai food outlets receive excellent inspection ratings
DUBAI 3 March 2018: Dubai Municipality inspections saw 158 food outlets shut temporarily for their high-risk violations.
Dubai Municipality allowed a large number of these outlets to resume their business following their meeting with technical specifications and hygiene requirements as per regulations.
An increased number of temporary closure orders were monitored during the summer season, due to high temperatures, which negatively affect the safety of food, and a sharp decrease was noticed in the number of closures with the beginning of the winter months, said Wam.
Meanwhile, almost 3,000 high-risk food establishments in Dubai have received Excellent rating (A+ and A) by the Food Inspection Section of the Food Safety Department at Dubai Municipality.
Sultan Ali Al Tahir, Head of the Food Inspection Section, said that the high-risk establishments represented hotels and big restaurants with large quantities of food preparation.
“The increased number in excellent ratings was as a result of the implementation of strategic food safety programmes for food establishments in the emirate and their adherence to our procedures to raise the hygiene and technical standards to reach such an advanced level, most notably the application of HACCP risk analysis system in all hotels, catering companies, and increasing their effectiveness. This system targets the risks related to the food chain from raw materials to the consumer table,” he said.
Food Safety
“Enhancing public confidence in food safety is part of our plans to achieve the strategic objective of food safety management, which is evident in our achievements in the past year. The intensive efforts of the food inspection teams have brought these positive results, which is quite relevant in the context of the Municipality’s vision and the Dubai 2021 Plan,” Al Tahir explained.
He went on to say that almost 3,000 food establishments acquired the ‘Excellent’ rating, marking a significant improvement for the city of Dubai compared to previous years. “During 2017 inspection teams conducted 32,000 visits to ensure that food outlets comply with food safety rules and regulations of the Municipality.”
The Smart Inspection Programme was applied to food establishments such as small cafes and restaurants, Al Tahir said, adding that the programme was designed to identify and analyse the technical and hygiene risks, as well as to process them by developing radical solutions and applying best practices to avoid repeat violations. “This has contributed significantly in raising food establishments’ evaluation levels,” he concluded.