Dawoud Al Hajiri, Director General of Dubai Municipality, received on Wednesday Her Excellency Mariam Bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Muhairi, UAE Minister for Food Security. Khalid Sharif Al Awadhi, CEO for Environment, Health and Safety Sector in the Municipality and a number of officials from the Ministry and the Municipality were present
on the occasion. The Minister was briefed on the food safety regulations and services in Dubai Municipality. The meeting discussed a series of important issues related to food security, as well as identified the most important challenges facing food security and safety in Dubai from the consumer’s perspective or from the perspective of food traders. Future proposals, plans and policies were also discussed to resolve the challenges and enhance the food security measures in the Emirate, as well as the Municipality’s efforts to reduce the percentage of destruction of food.
She was also briefed on the unique advantages of the Municipality’s digital platform, Foodwatch in the field of food safety and nutrition, which makes Dubai the most healthy, happy and sustainable city in the world. The Municipality has developed the system to facilitate information exchange between regulatory authorities and consumers, through the use of digital surveillance techniques, data analysis and innovative applications.
The Foodwatch platform enables the tracking of food by ensuring the nutritional components and information of each product, manages the digital data related to different food items and uses the latest electronic analytical tools for this data to make the right decisions about food authorisation or rejection. This digital platform, the first of its kind in the region, provides an opportunity for food suppliers to schools to identify food conforming to the dietary requirements of students with nutritional requirements for different age groups of children.
At the end of the visit, the Minister also toured the UAE Food Bank location in Al Quoz area. She was briefed on the operations of food reception, storage as well as the approved distribution mechanism.
The UAE Food Bank, which was established in order to collect surplus fresh and packaged food from hotels, restaurants, hospitality establishments, farms, food factories and food product markets, was also provided with an institutional mechanism that includes supervisory and control bodies, both within and outside the UAE, in cooperation with a network of local and international humanitarian and charitable organisations.
The UAE Food Bank also aspires to develop its network to include more companies as well as to build regional and international partnerships. The Bank’s centers and branches outside the country are provided with surplus food according to the special conditions set by the bank, reflecting the image of the UAE, which is keen to do charity and provide it within the highest international standards.