Twenty more restaurants certified 'healthy' in Dubai

The Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality revealed the second batch of 20 restaurants that met the civic body’s healthy food criteria.

The programme encourages restaurants and food outlets to provide healthier options for customers in Dubai and help them make informed decision about the food they buy.

“Through the Eat Healthy, Live Healthy campaign, the Municipality provides the public healthier choices easy to find as it ensures that the dish with the Municipality’s unique Healthy Food logo is part of an approved healthy option. The Eat Healthy, Live Healthy initiative also aims to ensure that the claims of the outlets on their food have better transparency, and prevent misleading information,” said acting head of the awareness and applied nutrition unit Jehaina Hassan Al Ali.

“During the pilot phase of the Eat Healthy, Live Healthy campaign in March this year, Dubai Municipality had announced that 13 food establishments in Dubai qualified for the Healthy Food certification from among 34 restaurants and cafes applied for the pilot certification programme. In its second phase, the Municipality certified a total of 20 restaurants across the city of Dubai. These restaurants may provide a minimum of two dishes with variety of options, such as: main course, appetizers, snacks, combo meals and beverages,” she added.

A specialised team from Dubai Municipality conducted visits to verify the food items offered by the food establishments that participated in the campaign to ensure that they used nutritious and healthy ingredients, healthy processing methods and handled the food safely until it was consumed.

The Eat Healthy, Live Healthy team also conducted four workshops and a number of meetings with the chefs and personnel of hotels and restaurants to raise awareness about healthy cooking, and how to comply with the Municipality’s guidelines. A symposium was also held for more than 30 hospitality groups and hotels throughout the year to encourage applicants and raise awareness about the importance of providing better options.

More than 50% of applicants of Eat Healthy, Live Healthy initiative were independent restaurants, 33% were hotel restaurants, and 17% were cafes.