Dr. Rashid Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment and Water, opened the sixth Dubai International Food Safety Conference, held alongside the Gulfood Exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).
He highlighted the fact that 160 countries import food into Dubai alone, underlining the need for increased vigilance when handling, transporting and storing food produce.
“A single ice cream could contain wheat imported from Russia, milk from the Netherlands, butter from New Zealand, Cacao from Ghana and chocolate from Switzerland,” said Bin Fahad.
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“Food safety is a global challenge and we need strong partnerships to protect people from unsafe food and to make the food available and affordable to all through measures that are sustainable,” he added.
Ahsraf Shehata, scientific and regulatory affairs manager for Mars GCC, echoed these sentiments and drew particular attention to the need for judicious food labeling in relation to allergens within the realm of food safety.
“Food regulations are still in the developing stages in the Middle East in comparison to US standards,” said Shehata.
He added that the Dubai International Food Safety Conference was a crucially important forum.
“Today the number and diversity of participants in the conference reflects how committed Dubai is to raising awareness of and building competency in food safety, and I’d like to see it grow,” Shehata concluded.
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