Leading Hotel First in the Region to be Officially Certified to the RvA Accredited Food Safety System Standard
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
As part of a nationwide initiative to raise the standards of food safety and increase local awareness - officially endorsed by the Government of the UAE at Gulfood 2006 - Le Meridien Dubai has today announced its certification by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) against the HACCP Based Food Safety System Standard, accredited by the Dutch Accreditation Council (Raad voor Accreditatie).
RvA is one of the world's leading accreditation authorities, based in the Netherlands, and the only authority to accredit this very stringent standard, which is recognised by both the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Food Standards Programme, and fully complies with the Dubai Municipality "HACCP Guidelines & Requirements for Retail Premises" issued in July 2005.
The standard itself (which is a major step towards certification to the recently published International Standard ISO 22000:2005) and the "Requirements for Certification Bodies" are issued by the National Board of Experts - HACCP, also based in the Netherlands.
Le Meridien Dubai is understood to be the first and only hotel in the Middle East to be certified to this standard, which includes adhering to a variety of stringent guidelines concerning the receiving, storage, preparation, cooking and serving of food.
In order to comply with the programme, Le Meridien Dubai has trained all 500 of its food and beverage (F+B) staff in the programme, putting them through basic food hygiene HACCP training, allowing them to assess each and every stage of the food flow system.
"Food safety is extremely high on our agenda at Le Meridien Dubai, with our unparalleled offering of 15 food and beverage outlets situated both within the main hotel and the picturesque setting of the Meridien Village," said Mr. Stphane Blanc, Director of Operations at Le Meridien Dubai.
"We always strive to give the utmost in quality of service and this certification can therefore be seen as an official recognition of the excellent service we provide, ensuring both the quality and safety of the food served in our restaurants," Stphane continued.
Restaurants at Le Meridien Dubai currently include the widely acclaimed 'Caf Chic' which, under the auspices of 2-Michelin Star chef, Philippe Gauvreau, serves Modern European dishes in a tranquil environment. 'Yalumba' offers an altogether more up-beat dining experience and, with its extensive (albeit cost-effective) wine list, ensures guests a lively taste of cuisine from 'Down Under'.
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Note to Editors:
Le Mridien
Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts, with its portfolio of more than 120 luxury and upscale hotels in 52 countries worldwide, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. The majority of Le Meridien properties are located in the world's top cities and resorts throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. In the 2005 Luxury Brand Status Index survey Le Mridien was recognised as one of the top 15 luxury hotel brands. For more information, please visit www.lemeridien.com.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W, Le Mridien and the recently announced AloftSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
© Press Release 2006
