Monday, Apr 24, 2017

Dubai: Dubai Municipality seized 54 food transport vehicles in the Fruits and Vegetables Market in Warsan for violating food safety rules during an inspection campaign last week.

Held as part of the GCC Food Safety Week, the campaign was aimed at controlling the food transport operations, and to ensure the application of guidelines for safe transport of food of various kinds, dry, chilled and frozen.

During the campaign carried out by the Municipality, 54 out of 487 food transport vehicles that have been inspected, were seized for violation of the approved rules and regulations, an official said in a press release on Monday.

Sultan Ali Al Taher, head of Food Inspection Section, who headed the team responsible for following up and implementing the guidelines for safe transport of food, said that the campaign also took place in the fish market in Deira.

He said only 10 per cent of the vehicles were found to be violating the rules and regulations for safe and hygienic transport of food, adding that the violators were fined and were immediately transferred to the technical inspection centres, while 90% or 487 of the vehicles, were found to be compliant with the rules.

Al Taher said the positive result of the campaign was that many of the violating food transport companies responded immediately so as to get their vehicles approved within the required specifications and standards.

He added that there has been an increase of 15 per cent in compliance ratio than the similar campaign last year, which had witnessed a compliance ratio of about 75 per cent out of 500 vehicles, which reached 90 per cent this year.

Al Taher explained that the Food Inspection Section and the team responsible for implementing the guidelines for safe transport of food will conduct periodic campaigns during the current year more comprehensively and on a wider scale until 100 per cent compliance is ensured from all transport companies in applying the hygiene requirements and technical specifications of the Food Safety Department and achieving its vision of sustainable control of safe food.

He appealed to the public to cooperate with the Municipality and immediately report violations by contacting 800900 at Municipality Call Centre, which operates round the clock, as the department will ascertain the condition of the vehicle and take appropriate action if they find any violation.

Staff Report

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