Dubai Municipality campaign to improve ventilation in 643 food outlets

Dubai Municipality has carried out a campaign to improve ventilation in 643 food outlets in the emirate.

Sultan Al Tahir, Head of Food Inspection Section in the Food Safety Department of Municipality, explained that the campaign aims to ensure the safety of workers and provide a safe and healthy working environment, which helps to maintain food safety.

He added that the inspection team in the department carried out the campaign between July and August, and included 643 out of the 17,000 food outlets operating in the emirate.

The inspections, conducted at the beginning of the campaign, were to see whether these establishments were committed to food safety requirements, and whether the temperature of the kitchen or workplace was between 25 and 26 degrees Celsius.

Al Tahir added that before starting the campaign, 141 outlets had already improved ventilation and carried out maintenance of their facilities, especially as cooking areas require high-temperature ovens that affect the ventilation quality if not in a good condition.

"While visiting some outlets, we found that the workers were exhausted by the intensity of the heat, and the inspectors issued fines to the owners of these food establishments, who had repeated violations. We decided to implement the campaign to alleviate the suffering of workers, and to provide conditions to ensure the preparation of food in an appropriate environment," he said.

Al Tahir pointed out that 345 establishments improved their performance during the campaign period, and carried out necessary maintenance for air conditioning and ventilation.

"We gave a deadline to 157 outlets of 1st September to improve ventilation and to carry out all necessary maintenance," he said.

Al Tahir added that the initiatives are aimed primarily at ensuring that working conditions are humanitarian.