(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) The food safety inspection squad in Muscat will be reinforced the coming year. Muscat Municipality currently has 90 food inspectors conducting checks on restaurants, foodstuff shops, coffee shops and supermarkets.Speaking on the sidelines of the 3rd Oman International Food Safety Conference at the Grand Hyatt on Tuesday, Ahmed Noori al Raisi, the deputy director of public health researches at the municipality said this will help maintain stricter standards.Last year (2011) too had seen the team expanded and it has been proposed that the number be raised further next year. There were no details about how many members will be added to the squad.Raisi said, ''Though 90 inspectors are enough to look into matters concerning stale or expired foodstuff, we plan to have more by 2013 because we want to maintain the highest food and health standards for the people of Oman.''The new members will include women. ''Presently, there are 20 women inspectors in the team and we will have more,'' he added. The two-day meet organised by OITE Conferences was inaugurated by H E Dr Ishaq Ahmed Mohammed al Ruqaishi, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.Prof Raymond O' Rourke, food and consumer lawyer from Ireland spoke on how regulations and the role of the public sector can be widened to ensure food safety.He said, ''Consumers always trust legislations and hence because everyone of us believes so much in tackling food issues we must also commit to the best of the regulations and rules that also must be flexible and based on new scientific researches.''Topics like food wastage and the need to invest in local food production rather than relying heavily on imports were also discussed on the inaugural day. The second day will see discussions on sea food, food micro-biology, food management in Nestle and food safety challenges in supermarkets.
