Sharjah: The municipality has increased its standards of food safety and has already launched a trial phase that will be carried out by 100 food outlets.
"Our first step in increasing the food safety level in the emirate of Sharjah includes 100 food institutions who have to comply with international standards. Once the trial phase is completed, we will implement the new level of safety measures on a total of 7,000 food institutions," Dr Shaikha Rasha Ahmad Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Assistant Director General of Health, Environment and Quality Section at Sharjah Municipality said.
Salem Obaid Al Shamsi, Chairman of Sharjah Municipal Council, told Gulf News that the initiative was aimed to raise the safety standard of food in the emirate.
Out of the 7,000 food outlets in Sharjah, five per cent were fined last year due to negligence of public or personal hygiene, in addition to failing to adhere to correct health practices when dealing with and preparing food.
In a three-week inspection campaign, three shawarma cafeterias and 1,294 food outlets were temporarily closed because they were operating in areas polluted by vehicle emissions and germs.
Workshops
In order to combat recurrence of such negligent behaviour, representatives of food establishments throughout the year will have to attend workshops and training, which in turn will reduce the possibility of food poisoning.
"It is important to train officials in the food sector and to raise their level to that of international standards, especially across the emirate, such as Dibba, Khor Fakkan, and other cities," he said.