Al-Ali: Some inspectors face attacks while performing their duties. Emirates Today
Head of the Internal Inspection Division in Sharjah Municipality, Jassim Al-Ali, revealed that inspectors in the food control agencies receive bribe offers from the entities, institutions, and factories they inspect. He told “Emirates Today” that “some of these institutions intend to study the financial inspector’s case with the aim of seducing him and facilitating his exploitation.” While he confirmed the effectiveness of the regulatory apparatus in the Northern Emirates, he did not rule out the existence of “inspectors who fall into the traps of these institutions and overlook some of their violations.” Or they are lenient in dealing with it.”
Al-Ali attributed this to the salaries of inspectors in the Sharjah Municipality, “as they are not sufficient to meet the increasing financial obligations due to the phenomenon of high prices.” He reported that about 25% of the inspectors working in food control in the municipality moved to departments outside the emirate, after receiving large financial offers and attractive incentives.
The Food Control Section of the Public Health Department includes 70 inspectors divided into three divisions: internal inspection, factories, and food control. It attracts students of the food safety diploma, offered by the University of Sharjah, to work in the inspection profession.
The inspector is considered a judicial officer in inspection campaigns, and he is exposed to many risks due to the nature of his work, as he receives threats and faces attacks, especially if he raids an unlicensed site. In return, the inspector receives a total salary of 7,000 dirhams for a resident, and 12,000 dirhams for a citizen, while his counterpart in Dubai Municipality receives 11,000 dirhams for a resident, and 15,000 dirhams for a citizen.
Food outlets
Al-Ali stressed that “the control imposed on food outlets in Sharjah represents the first line of defense through which food supplies can be controlled in the emirate.”
He said, “Food at the five ports of Sharjah (Khalid Sea Port, Sharjah International Airport, Container Reception Terminal, Hamriyah Free Zone Port, and Khor Fakkan Sea Port) are subject to control procedures to ensure their compliance with specifications and suitability for human consumption. The work mechanism is focused on providing inspectors with experience in the field of food inspection, providing assistance to auditors and providing them with information and all health requirements for importing food. Inspectors work seven days a week in coordination with the port and customs departments in the emirate and all relevant authorities, and the food shipment does not leave the port without completing its treatment. The food inspection process focuses on the physical examination represented by examining the external appearance of the product and reviewing the permitted food label.
The owner of the shipment is also required to approve it before its arrival by sending three samples to be examined in the department’s laboratories, to ensure that they comply with the conditions and specifications in force in the country.”
At the expense of quality
He added, “What is said about Sharjah Municipality’s interest in fees at the expense of the quality of supervision and inspection is absolutely not true,” pointing out that it is one of the municipalities that collects the least fees in the country. He denied that “the Northern Emirates are an outlet for food that is not fit for consumption, stressing that the control mechanism over it does not allow the entry of any unfit food item.” If this happens, the internal control, represented by the Internal Inspection Division, will confiscate the materials and destroy them as soon as they are seized in the emirate’s markets.”
Al-Ali explained, “Some products enter the country’s markets and are fit for use, but they are subject to poor storage and spoilage, even though their expiration date has not yet expired.”
He said that factories are classified globally according to the food they produce into three levels. The first is high-risk, which includes meat, poultry, fish and their derivatives factories, dairy factories, ice cream products, juice factories, and egg factories. The second: medium risk, and is represented by grain, flour, oils and crisps factories. The third: low-risk products. Based on the recommendations of the General Secretariat of Municipalities, the HACCP system concerned with good manufacturing practices (PNG), in addition to worker practices (POSS) and documentation, was applied to all food factories.
The result of the decision was the commitment of 90% of factories with a high risk level to implement HACCP. As for the factories that did not implement the system, they were prohibited from distributing their products, and were limited to selling inside their stores. As for factories with a medium risk level, the implementation of HACCP will be completed by the end of 2008.
Types of examinations
Physical: It depends on taking a sample in the condition in which the food item was found. For example, if the item is frozen, it must arrive in the same condition, and the method of transportation must take into account its condition.
Chemist: Colors, preservatives, toxins, fat percentage, heavy metals, alcohol and acidity are examined.
Microbial: Designed for examining fungi and microscopic materials.
There are samples that are difficult for the laboratory to examine and are sent abroad. As for foodstuffs traded in the markets, samples are taken periodically for laboratory examination.
Seizures
The most important seizures of the Food Control Department:
100 tons of expired fish were seized in one of the major companies. It was violated and its license from Sharjah was cancelled.
The case of destroying a product that was not scheduled to be destroyed (the case of spoiled shrimp). The person involved in the case was transferred to court and a deportation ruling was issued against him.
55 tons of rice mixed with sand and cement were seized, after the rice producing company attempted to destroy it for the purpose of obtaining an official certificate from the Sharjah Municipality regarding the quantity of destroyed rice and submitting it to obtain the insurance value.
200 tons of spoiled manufacturing raw materials were seized from a factory during hygiene inspections.
