Health Ministry intensifies inspections to ensure food safety during Ramadan
Health surveillance intensified at hypermarkets, popular kitchens, food establishments and butcheries.
QNA
Doha: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has intensified control over local food and its outlets to ensure the safety of products that are handled, marketed, and consumed during the holy month of Ramadan, in addition to tightening control over food consignments imported from abroad through air, sea, and land ports.
Health surveillance has been intensified on the establishments most visited by consumers, such as consumer associations, (hypermarkets) and popular kitchens, in addition to food establishments, especially butcheries.
Also, the population density has been considered while choosing the locations of establishments included in the food inspection campaigns to ensure the highest possible level of food safety during the holy month.
Due to the increase in the number of food consignments to the State of Qatar during this period, the number of food inspectors at land, sea and air ports has been increased so as to support the inspection schedule so that the monitoring process is effective.
The health units at the ports also work around the clock on a shift system to ensure the smooth and fast control process and the flow of goods in a manner that covers the needs of the market.
Regarding the control of imported food, the MoPH statistics recorded the control of up to 534 million kilograms of food during the first quarter of 2024, and 404 million kilograms of them were released after proving their compliance with the requirements, while 7 million kilograms were rejected and 10,311 kilograms were destroyed after it was proven that they violated the requirements of the relevant technical regulations and standards.
Local inspections and port inspections are carried out using the electronic (Watheq) system and in accordance with standard operating procedures.
To ensure the safety of food and its compliance with the requirements and standards, inspectors at outlets and in local food establishments take samples that are examined at the MoPH Food Safety Laboratory and the shift system has been adopted inside the laboratory throughout the month of Ramadan to increase its capacity in line with the intensification of control procedures.
