Khaleej Times, March 26, 2013
Dubai issues food code
Sajila Saseendran / 26 March 2013
Diners will soon see changes in the design of
some of the eateries, colour of some food handlers’
uniforms and have more info about allergens on the
menus, thanks to the introduction of the Dubai Food
Code that is set to make sweeping changes to the
safe food culture in the emirate.
With the Dubai Municipality releasing the code on
Monday, the food industry will now see new and
uniform standards implemented in every bit of their
operation — ranging from construction of eateries to
personal hygiene and safe practices of food handlers
and other procedures involved in ensuring food
safety.
As reported by Khaleej Times last month, all food
outlets in Dubai will be required to follow the code
based on which the inspection system will be
revamped. Director of the Food Control Department
Khalid Mohammed Sherif Al Awadhi said establishments
will be receiving their grades (ranging from A to E)
during food safety inspections depending on how good
they are in following the mandatory requirements in
the code.
As per the code, which also provides the
rationale behind each rule, food outlets will be
required to have adequate operational space and
proper design to ensure smooth and hygienic
functioning of their premises. This should also
tally with the number of items on the menu so that
there is no overloading and no clogging of the space
in delivering the items being prepared.
Changes on the menu and labels of food items will
be required since the code says that food
establishments should declare the most common
ingredients known to cause allergic reactions when
they are present in the food that is prepared or
sold.
The code has enlisted a host of guidelines to
ensure hygienic food handling. It says only clean
and preferably light-coloured outer clothing or
protective overalls should be worn by food handlers,
indicating that food handlers using dark outfits may
have to switch to light-coloured uniforms.
“Now, we are concentrating on the introduction of
the code. We will be conducting a series of
workshops to help the industry implement it. After
that, we will measure the acceptance of and
adherence to the code. In the next stage, we will
start working on licensing based on the code and
then we will use the appropriate provisions for
decision making,” Asia Abdulwahab Alraeesi, who
heads Food Studies and Planning at the Food Control
Department, said at the launch of the code.
“Different inspectors have different approaches
to steps in food preparation like cooling, reheating
and thawing. We have now harmonised the guidelines
for all these in the code. This will add very good
value to our efforts to provide very safe food to
the consumers,” said the municipality’s food safety
expert, Basher Hassan Yousif.
He said the code is designed to assist the
Persons In-Charge (PICs) at food establishments to
understand their obligations and carry out
operations as per the requirement.
“A notable point regarding the code is that it
not only talks about laws but explains how and why.”
The code stipulates that the operator of a food
premises shall ensure that food is stored,
displayed, prepared and served in a manner that
prevents the food from becoming contaminated.
sajila@khaleejtimes.com