Dubai unveils new food safety tests to crack down on fraud and monitor shelf-life

By Gary Scattergood

- Last updated on GMT

Dubai Municipality officials are examining how new technology can improve food safety. ©iStock
Dubai Municipality officials are examining how new technology can improve food safety. ©iStock

Related tags Food safety

Three new food-testing services, including one to tackle food fraud, have been launched by the state-run Dubai Central Laboratory.

Officials says the tests will help ensure the quality and safety of food products, and that they are free of commercial frauds and pathogens.

Maha Al Hajiri, head of the Food and Environment Laboratories Section, said the tests would assess shelf life, food fraud and food safety.

“The first one is Food Validity Period Extension Service, through which different types of samples are studied and tested to determine the period required for the validity of the food product,” ​she said.

“Another service is for detecting commercial fraud in fresh and cooked meat, which is done through the use of immunosuppressive technology associated with the enzyme.

Safety and quality

“The third service is for detecting bacterial pathogens such as salmonella bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli using a molecular detection technique with precision and speed showing results within 42 hours.”

She added the new tests were aimed at ensuring the quality and safety of products according to the ISO 17025 laboratory quality standards.

Last September, the director general of Dubai Municipality said officials were examining how new technology could improve food safety by tracking poisoning outbreaks and establishing self-monitoring systems in food outlets.

Hussain Nasser Lootah said Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT) and electronic sensing tools would increasingly be used “to find innovative solutions to the challenges to food safety.”

Related topics Policy Middle East Food safety

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