Sultan Ali Al Taher, Head of food inspection section of the food control department of Dubai municipality
The Food Safety Department is running an inspection campaign at school canteens this academic year which covered 315 educational institutions and found numerous irregularities in health and technical conditions as well as hygiene of the canteens.
Sultan Ali Al Tahir, head of Food Inspection Section, said corrective actions were put in place to ensure the application of best practices as well as the safety of the foodstuff available in the canteens. The campaign will continue during the second and third terms of the academic year.
As part of the campaign, the public school canteen companies in Dubai, which are the primary suppliers of foodstuff for schools, had to go through an approval process, to make sure they meet all health requirements.
The official did not name the schools where the irregularities were found.
“The inspections ensured that there are no hazardous irregularities such as lack of heat preservation during the display of food at the schools and also during transportation to the schools,” said Al Taher.
The inspections also make sure that the canteens maintain general hygiene and there are no traces of insects and rodents.
They also ensure that the vehicles that transport food from the source to the schools are approved by the Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality, and the schools provide sufficient space for food supply.
The canteens should get a score of not less than ‘very good’ (B) during the last inspection visit, and the cleaning of water tanks should be done by companies certified by Dubai Municipality.
As regards private schools in Dubai the inspection was coordinated with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority.
“We are very keen to maintain the health and safety of consumers of food in this important sector,” he said, adding that the section has decided to organise special inspection campaigns annually during the academic year, in addition to routine inspections.
Al Tahir stressed the efforts of the municipality and the Food Safety Department in particular to ensure the provision of healthy and safe food in all canteens in the city’s public and private schools.
He pointed out that the food control operations at the school canteens are different in government and private schools.
“The public schools depend on approved food companies for food supply for school canteens, while private schools coordinate with approved food companies as well as prepare some food items within the school kitchen, which requires different food control measures over these kitchens similar to that of the control systems applied on food establishments to ensure the cleanliness of the kitchen workers,” said Al Tahir.
He said these efforts come within the scope of the municipality’s keenness on ensuring the safety of all foodstuffs in the school canteen operations so that all students can enjoy a healthy and safe food environment.
Aim of inspections
The inspections ensure:
The canteens maintain general hygiene
There are no traces of insects and rodents
The vehicles that transport food from the source to the schools are approved by the Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality
Schools provide sufficient space for food supply
The cleaning of water tanks are done by companies certified by Dubai Municipality
There are no hazardous irregularities
There is no lack of heat preservation during the display of food
Dubai Municipality finds irregularities in school canteens
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