• Home

Dubai to host international conference on food safety

DUBAI — With more than 90 per cent of food consumed in the UAE being imported, food safety is an immediate concern for the Dubai Municipality, which aims to bring experts and leaders in food safety together at the 6th annual International Food Safety Conference to be held in late February, 2011.

The conference will be headed by the Food Control Department of Dubai Municipality, and will focus on the issues being faced by emerging economies in the management of food safety, providing delegates with a global view using the practices in developed countries as case studies.

Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, emphasised the global importance of food safety, especially with the scares and changes in the international trading environment in the recent years. “With more than 6 million tonnes of imported food entering our ports, this affects us in Dubai as well. Stricter practices worldwide will mean better health on the home front,” he told Khaleej Times.

The scientific programmes to be discussed at the conference are those supported by institutions such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO), World Health Organisation (WHO), Centre for Diseases Control (CDC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), according to Khalid Mohammed Sharif, Director of the Food Control Department and Chairman of the Conference’s Organising Committee.

“Our conference will be a meeting point of food safety professionals from different parts of the world. We hope to address variwous food safety issues and allow cooperation among agencies in the industry,” he said.

The conference will be held from February 27 to March 2, 2011, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre and will comprise 40 different sessions including workshops on topics such as conducting effective food inspections and audits, the rapid detection of pathogens in food, and poultry and meat safety.

news@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE