Hussain Lootah opens conference on food safety

His remarks came during the opening session of the 2nd Dubai International Food Safety Conference which was organized by Dubai Municipality in association with MasterFoods. The conference brought together regional and international experts to discuss the latest developments in the field of food safety and risk assessment.

Mr. Lootah noted that while the conference aims at assessing new laws and regulations for Dubai's food industry, it also provides Dubai Municipality with a strong platform to form relations with international food safety experts and to stay abreast of latest developments in global food safety standards.

"We continue to elevate food safety standards and give our priority to programs that help produce high quality and safe food" said Mr. Lootah. "Dubai's cosmopolitan and multifaceted food industry requires that food producers, distributors and professionals working in the food industry apply high food safety standards for the advantage of the ultimate consumer."

Presenting a paper in the conference on "Dubai's Food Safety Strategy," Khalid Sharif, Assistant Director of Public Health Department and Head of Food Control Section at the municipality, said new global trends in food manufacturing and the increasing volume of imported and exported food products through Dubai's ports make it a complex and challenging task to ensure food safety. As a result, the food control authorities at Dubai Municipality look forward to establishing a coherent strategic plan that outlines all procedures involved in providing safe and wholesome food. In this regards, the 2nd Dubai International Food Safety Conference represents an opportunity for DM's Public Health Department to benefit from food industry professionals.

The paper summarized the food safety strategic plan adopted by the Food Control Section in light of the present and future challenges that face the food control authorities in Dubai. The paper dealt with six main points of the strategy which are : legislation made by the authorities in ensuring food safety; procedures for inspecting food items circulated in the local market; monitoring system to ensure safe transportation of food items from the port to the consumers; introduction of a multi-party taskforce to deal with food-poisoning and other food related cases and illnesses; advanced electronic services in simplifying food export and import procedures for food traders; and awareness programmes to educate consumers on food safety.

"MasterFoods is committed to producing high-quality products and to ensure safety in all areas of production and distribution. We care about the society in which we operate and the food safety conference is a great opportunity to translate our commitment into action," comments Christine Greaves, External Relations Manager at MasterFoods Middle East FZE. She adds, "Our standards in food safety production are among the highest internationally and we are happy to support Dubai Municipality in its efforts."