Current issues of Food Safety in UAE

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What are the Issues?

• Growing Food Trade and Emerging Pathogens.
• Diversity of Population.
• Large turnover of employees in food industry due
  to sudden growth.
• Difficulty in providing trainings to food
  handlers due to language barriers.
• Lack of Food Safety Awareness among public.

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• Media does not contribute much to increase
  awareness and provide right information and role
  of the media is not defined.
• Lack of research and Development in Food Safety
  in the region.
• Shortage of Competent Food Safety Professionals.
• Lack of Data on the prevalence of Foodborne
  Diseases.
• Lack of coordination between different
  Authorities and organizations that are involved
  in gathering data regarding foodborne illnesses.
• Dependence on External data.

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Issues of the Day

• 1. Large turnover of employees in food industry
  due to sudden growth
• ? Food handled by untrained people in small
  restaurants and cafeterias
• 2. Media does not contribute much to increase
  awareness and provide right information
• ? Role of the media is not defined
• 3. Lack of Food Safety Awareness among public
• 4. Shortage of Competent Food Safety
  Professionals

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Issue 1

• Large turnover of employees in food industry due
  to sudden growth
• - Food handled by untrained people in small
  restaurants and cafeterias

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What is the definition of Food Handlers?

• Any person who directly handles packaged or
  unpackaged food, food equipment and utensils, or
  food contact surfaces and is therefore expected
  to COMPLY with food hygiene requirements
• 
  
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  Codex Alimentarius
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General personal hygiene of food handlers

• The law requires a high standard of personal
  cleanliness for everyone working in a food
  establishment
• Sickness
• Protective over clothing
• Hand washing
• Jewellery and cosmetics
• Eating and drinking

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Food Handler Standard
RECOMMENDED INTERNATIONAL CODE OF PRACTICE
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FOOD HYGIENE CAC/RCP
1-1969, Rev. 4-20031
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Food handlers in U.A.E.

• The majority of food handlers in U.A.E. they are
  in the category of read and write only with no
  qualification.
• Most of food handlers working in the small
  restaurants and cafeterias as a TEMPORARY job not
  more than one year.
• Most of them have little information about food
  safety.

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• The majority of them do not wearing protecting
  clothes when they come into direct contact with
  food (Aprons, gloves, head covers).
• Most of food handlers working in the small
  restaurants and cafeterias are washing their
  hands BEFORE they handling the food.
• Most of them washing their hand with soap and
  water, HOWEVER, some of them they wash with water
  only.

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• Most of them also aware of inform the boss in
  case of sickness. And some of them they are
  IGNORANT.
• Their general information about Personal hygiene,
  holding temperature, serving temperature, storage
  condition, raw and cooked food are very POOR.
• Some BAD practices were noticed during
  preparation, handling and serving food.

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Pictures of the Day
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Issue 2

• Media does not contribute much to increase
  awareness and provide right information
• - Role of the media is not defined

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• Newspapers
• - Al Ittihad
• - Albayan
• - Alkhaleej
• - Khaleej Times
• - Al Ain Times
• - Al fajr
• - Arab News

• A survey was conducted by college of Food and
  Agriculture (UAE University) students to evaluate
  the contribution of news papers in increase the
  food safety awareness among public

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• Most of journalists find that the food safety
  awareness among the public is GOOD.
• Most of them publish news about food poisoning or
  bad practices in restaurants and food service
  establishments WEEKLY.
• The majority of the journalists get the
  information about outbreaks and bad restaurants
  practices by them SELF.

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• HOWEVER, some food control authorities provide
  the journalist with updated information about
  food outbreaks MONTHLY.
• The majority of the journalists evaluated the
  food control authorities in area of providing the
  information regarding food outbreaks as NOT
  SUPPORTIVE.
• Journalists DISAGREE that medias not participate
  in raising awareness and not giving the correct
  information to the public.

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Why?

• Ignorance of the public regarding any article
  related to the food and safety and awareness.
• Journalists duties is to publish what information
  they have, and the food control authorities
  should help in publish the correct information.
• Journalists are not expertise's in food safety so
  lots of help needed from the food safety
  specialist.

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Why?

• The lack of the communication between the media,
  food control authorities and the food expertise's
  effect in the public awareness.
• Most of the news paper has cretin pages for
  health and food safety every week to raise the
  awareness through the public.

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How can the media raise the awareness among the
public in the area of food safety?

• Food safety is responsibility of every one,
  media, consumer and authorities should
  cooperative with each other
• - Food authorities provide correct
  information
• - Media publish the correct information
• - Consumer not to be ignorant
• Provide the medias with all updated information
  and recent researches.

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• Increase the numbers of articles related to the
  food safety.
• Use simple information to reach the consumer at
  all levels.
• Find out the consumer need and do more search and
  update them with finding.
• TRANSPARENCY is very important between the food
  control authorities, media and the public.

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• Establish PROGRAM between the authorities and the
  media to reach the goal in public awareness.
• The published information should focus in
  awareness not marketing.
• Daily update information to the public and let
  them aware of any food poising occur and who is
  responsible for it.
• Focus in the bad practices done by the CONSUMER
  him self because of lack of the awareness.

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News of the Day
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Issue 3

• Lack of Food Safety Awareness among public
• A survey was conducted by college of Food and
  Agriculture (UAE University) students to evaluate
  food safety information among the students and
  employees in UAE university

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• 90 of them DAILY eat outside the house.
• 58 of them NOT washing their hand BEFORE their
  meal when they eating outside. And 20 using
  HAND SANITAIZER.
• The majority of people mixed up between food
  safety and NUTRITION (Calories, Fruits and
  vegetable, Protein and carbohydrate, Vitamins,
  Diet).
• Most of them aware of food poising BUT they dont
  have any clue about any bacteria causing food
  poisoning.

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• 77 of the surveyed people DONT take any action
  or complain if they noticed any bad food
  practices by food handlers.
• Majority of people look over the EXPIRATION DAY
  of the products (68). Some of them they dont
  give any attention to the labels (32).
• Large number of E mail that give information
  about food led the public to be more aware and
  ask for more information.
• 90 of the people think that the food control
  authorities in the country doing their job
  properly regarding the food issues, HOWEVERE,
  they think that we are in the early stage and we
  will reach the EXCELLENT one day.

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Issue 4

• Shortage of Competent Food Safety Professionals
• - Food Safety is still in its early stage
• - We need people with expertise in
  different aspects of food safety
• ? UAE University 40 students Graduate every year
• ? Sharjah University 10 inspectors graduate
  every year

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Responsibility of Food Safety
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Thank You