• 69 Violations Issued and 6 Non-Compliant Businesses Closed

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) has launched an intensive inspection campaign targeting food establishments across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in preparation for Eid al-Fitr. The campaign aims to ensure that food businesses adhere to the highest standards of health and food safety, guaranteeing the safety of food for consumers during the Eid holiday period.

The campaign, which runs until 10 April 2023, encompasses all food establishments within the food chain, with a particular focus on those experiencing increased demand from consumers during Eid. These include confectionery shops, roasteries, bakeries, sweets and chocolate factories, and popular kitchens. The campaign will verify that these establishments are applying the required health and food safety standards, as part of ADAFSA's ongoing efforts to enhance food safety levels in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and achieve the well-being and safety of the community.

The campaign focuses on monitoring and correcting poor practice and ensuring that best practice is applied throughout the food preparation process, including preparation, processing, storage, display and transport. This will help prevent food contamination, particularly cross-contamination from workers and equipment. In addition, the campaign emphasises the need for food business operators to maintain the highest standards of personal hygiene, including hand washing, the correct use of work equipment and the wearing of protective clothing.

Running alongside the inspection campaign is an awareness campaign focusing on reducing food waste and its negative economic and environmental impacts. This will be achieved by providing consumers with a range of tips and advice on the importance of food preservation, encouraging optimal food use, meal planning, and determining appropriate quantities of food to be purchased. The campaign also highlights safe and proper food storage practices, as well as the implementation of correct food handling and safe food circulation practices.

This Eid al-Fitr inspection campaign is part of a larger campaign launched by ADAFSA approximately one week before the start of Ramadan. During this period, ADAFSA inspection teams visited over 1040 food establishments to verify their compliance with food safety requirements. The campaign aimed to ensure the enforcement of regulations, raise the health standards of food establishments, and preserve the health of the community. So far, the campaign has resulted in the issuance of 69 violations, the closure of 6 food establishments that did not comply with food safety requirements, including 4 establishments that were administratively closed as a result of repeated previous violations.

Throughout Ramadan, the inspection campaigns focused on monitoring and correcting incorrect practices through the implementation of approved procedures to ensure the highest level of food safety during the holy month. The inspection campaigns covered all establishments in the food chain, including food storage facilities, distribution centres, suppliers, points of sale, supermarkets, grocery stores, restaurants, traditional kitchens and catering companies. In addition, meat, fish, vegetable and fruit markets were inspected to ensure compliance with food safety requirements.

ADAFSA urges consumers to verify the safety and health of food products before purchasing them, to follow personal hygiene practices when handling food, and to communicate with them and report any violations detected in any food establishment by calling the toll-free number for the Abu Dhabi government, 800555.