The Municipality and Planning Department – Ajman (MPDA) announced achievement of 98.59% of food samples complying with food safety laws during the first half of 2023, as part of the MPDA’s keenness to ensure food health and safety.
In this connection, Eng. Khalid Moeen Al-Hosani, MPDA’s Executive Director of the Public Health and Environment Sector, asserted that MPDA highly cares for the health and safety of the community, tailoring food safety enhancement plans and programs, which include food surveys of markets and facilities to ensure that food items comply with the specifications and regulations approved in the state. The food survey programs are carried out under the food risk assessment system to focus on high-risk items in the markets, and the food survey plan also includes wholesale and retail food centers, food factories and bottled drinking water filling stations, contributing to tightening control over food products and ensuring their compliance with food safety standards, he added.
Al-Hosani noted that the MPDA’s Food Laboratory could examine 2,141 food samples that met the requirements of compliance with food safety laws during the first half of 2023, adding that the Laboratory uses the latest laboratory testing equipment to examine food in accordance with international best practices.
He referred to the steps to deal with cases of non-compliance results for any food item from the laboratory examination, as a food notification is created with the early warning system for biosecurity at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to study the case in the rest of emirates and perform actions to withdraw the product from the market to ensure the safety and health of the consumer and ensure that food items comply with the approved specifications and regulations in the state.
Al-Hosani pointed out that implementing awareness initiatives, training and qualifying inspectors, obligating facilities to provide a qualified food safety official approved by MPDA in each food facility, applying approved food safety systems, implementing qualitative sessions from sectors of economic activities affiliated with the Public Health and Environment Sector, boosting joint cooperation with the supervisory and regulatory authorities statewide in public health and food safety within online systems and approved procedures, as well as involving the community in filing observations and complaints on food and health facilities through smart apps and communicating with the Ajman Government Contact Centre 80070 around the clock, a matter which takes part in maintaining food safety and accomplishing the desired goals.
