The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) held a coordination meeting with municipalities across the UAE to review the progress in implementing the recommendations of the previous meeting held in June 2020 and explore ways to enhance national food safety and security.

His Excellency Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, presided over the gathering that drew the participation of heads of municipal authorities and took place at the Ministry’s headquarters in Dubai.

The attendees highlighted the role of MOCCAE and municipalities in boosting food security through increasing crop, livestock, and fish production.

They also discussed the mechanism of aligning food imports and food facilities inspection and control measures, as well as unifying technical procedures for testing inbound consignments of fresh fruits and vegetables across the UAE with the aim of safeguarding consumer health, preventing pest infestations, and avoiding duplication of efforts at entry points. In this context, the participants agreed to establish a joint technical team to review the relevant measures currently applied by local authorities and devise uniform procedures. Areas of interest cover food classification, document verification, visual examination, law enforcement, sample collection, laboratory testing, risk analysis and management, and handling non-compliant consignments.  

The meeting included a presentation of the outcomes of an evaluation study of slaughterhouses and livestock markets in the UAE. The attendees decided to set up a team that will formulate unified guidelines, technical specifications, and standard procedures applicable to livestock markets and slaughterhouses. The team will also be responsible for developing an animal identification, transfer, and tracking system as well as zoonotic disease control procedures. 

His Excellency Dr Al Nuaimi praised the work of the municipalities in supporting the agricultural and fisheries sectors.