DM adopts new approach to reduce food rejection at ports

Thousands of tonnes of food products are rejected every year at Dubai ports, largely due to the exporters’ lack of knowledge about food safety regulations.

The Dubai Municipality (DM) is changing its food inspection policies to prevent tonnes of imported food products getting rejected at the ports and their subsequent wastage.

There are over 160 countries from where 90 per cent of food products are imported to Dubai. However, thousands of tonnes of food products are rejected every year at Dubai ports, largely due to the exporters’ lack of knowledge about the emirate’s stringent food safety regulations.

In 2011, the latest year for which figures are available, Dubai rejected nearly 45,000 tonnes of food products, most of which were denied permission due to non-compliance with DM’s food labelling requirements. Only about three per cent of that was found unfit after laboratory tests.

At times, strict observation of regulations, without understanding their essence of ensuring food safety and security, leads to food wastage at the ports, according to Dubai Municipality Food Control Department’s senior food safety expert Bashir Hassan Yousif.

To overcome such a scenario, the municipality’s Food Control Department is planning to implement a new approach to approve imported food products, which will comply with new unified import regulations in the GCC level.

“Sometimes, our inspectors have to reject the consignments because of minor mistakes in labelling. On such occasions, instead of rejecting the food outright, we will cooperate with the companies to make corrections and ensure that they comply with regulations so that we can accept them,” he said.

Errors that do not affect the safety and quality of the products will be corrected after such “reconfiguration”, Yousif said.

“We will not compromise on the safety of the food products. However, we wish to avoid rejecting good and safe food due to minor mistakes in complying with our regulations,” he said.

Similarly, the department also aims to educate its inspectors about the need to understand the essence of the regulations. “If the inspector rejects a final product without understanding the essence of the law, the product will be wasted though still being edible. We will spread awareness about this among our staff.”

Microbiological risk-based testing and inspection procedures will be the main focus of the department. Prevention of wastage at source is another approach that is being adopted. India being the top most exporter of food products to Dubai, the department is focusing on making sure the authorities and companies in India are well aware of the regulations here.

“About 25 per cent of the food is imported from India. If we take care of that particular country, we can make sure that a quarter of the products imported to our ports are safe,” said Yousif.

Increasing consumer awareness, providing smart shopping tips, and encouraging responsible usage of social media are other methods being used to reduce food wastage and improve food safety culture among the public.

“Food safety is an integral part of food security … If safety regulation is good, and implemented properly, it will make sure, food is not abandoned … and also contribute to reducing the price. But any misunderstanding or misapplication of the law may result in food wastage … So regulators, industry and the public should work in harmony,” Yousif added.