(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Plans are also afoot to launch a smart mobile application which will enable customers to check details of food products including whether they are approved.
What the stickers say
As per the current plan the picture of Mr. Safe the mascot of Dubai Municipality’s Food Control Department flashing a “thumbs up” sign will be stuck on the eateries that have passed the food inspections.
The green card with the thumbs up sign of approval will tell the customers that no major violation that would impact food safety was detected during the inspections by the food control officials at the facility.
Outlets that recorded more than two major violations will receive a yellow sticker. Titled “Conditional Pass” the sticker will also indicate that the establishment has to ensure the violations are corrected immediately. The timeline for submitting a detailed corrective action plan required to prevent future occurrence to the food inspection officer will also be mentioned on the sticker.
A red sticker (which may also include a thumbs down sign) will be issued against outlets that fail due to critical violations. This sticker will also specify the conditions for ensuring corrections and preventive plans within the a specified timeframe.
sajilakhaleejtimes.com
Diners in Dubai will soon be able to choose eateries that have passed food safety checks as the Dubai Municipality plans to put stickers indicating how food outlets fared in its inspections.
Plans are also afoot to launch a smart mobile application which will enable customers to check details of food products including whether they are approved or had any history of recall by scanning their barcodes.
These are part of the efforts to make Dubai’s food sector smarter and safer as the emirate prepares to be a Smart City and gears up to host the World Expo 2020 senior officials of the municipality’s Food Control Department revealed at the 9th Dubai International Food Safety Conference (DIFSC) which began on Sunday.
In his presentation on “The Future of Food Inspection in Dubai” the Head of Food Inspection Section at the Department Sultan Ali Al Taher revealed that the municipality plans to issue colour-coded stickers with the thumbs up/down sign to indicate inspection results.
The plan is to implement the sticker system in 2015. “We hope to get the approval soon and start next year” he said. “We don’t believe in the theory of ‘name and shame’. We believe more in the theory of ‘name and fame’. Hence we would like to tell the people which restaurants and hotels are keeping good food safety standards. Also we are acknowledging their efforts through Dubai Food Safety Awards.”
Director of the department Khalid Mohammed Sherif Al Awadhi said the future of the food sector would be made safer and smarter in line with the Smart Dubai initiative. The department has already tied up with IBM for implementing smarter solutions. The launch of the application a deadline for which was not announced will allow manufacturers to register their products through smart phones.
“Consumers will be able to scan the barcode of a food product and retrieve details such as whether it is approved or registered or if there is a history of any recall of that product” Al Awadhi explained.
Vice-President of Food Safety at Walmart Frank Yiannas who presented the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Lecture suggested that the right combination of “high-tech” and “high touch” methods would be the way forward in combating food-borne illnesses in the future. He said the use of smart technology should be complemented with the use of prudent food safety behavior executed by effective food safety leadership to meet the future challenges of the food safety sector.— sajilakhaleejtimes.com