food and Drug Administration: 4 degrees awarded to establishments according to their commitment, and the privileged category gets exclusive services
The Executive Director of the Eastern Sector at the Food and Drug Authority, Turki bin Abdullah Al-Jalisi, affirmed the continuous interaction between the authority and the business sector in the eastern region, pointing to the keenness between the two parties to develop the working mechanism and to deal with various initiatives to improve the services provided to all.
Al-Jalisi spoke during a monthly meeting for the business sector organized by the Asharqia Chamber remotely Tuesday, December 8, 2020, and moderated by the Secretary-General of the Chamber, Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Wabel, about the Authority’s efforts in developing inspection and import operations, as he referred to the Food Facilities Evaluation Project, which aims to evaluate the local establishment To degrees to motivate them to raise the quality of their food products, explaining that the project in the first stage targets food factories, bottled water factories, and ice factories.
Al-Jalisi said that the project aims to reduce wrong practices inside the facility, assess the general situation, and the extent of the food establishment’s commitment to applying health and safety standards, in addition to the optimal application of food safety programs in food establishments and their workers, increasing consumer confidence in the local product, supporting non-oil exports, and raising The level of competitiveness among establishments and enhancing the reputation and quality of the local product.
Al-Jalisi stated that the authority grants 4 grades and percentages for classification that reflect the facility's commitment to health and technical requirements and that if the facility obtains a high rating (A +), this will contribute to the inclusion of its name in the list of distinguished establishments, obtaining an export certificate through the fast track, and also obtaining Priority in the business support service without prior reservation.
On the self-evaluation program for food establishments, Al-Jalisi said that the program works according to a specific mechanism so that the person responsible for food safety in the facility can evaluate the performance of his facility by filling out the form prepared to see the extent of its compliance with the technical regulations, Gulf standards, and good manufacturing requirements, stressing that this step helps to develop a mechanism Self-monitoring of food establishments, identifying and correcting non-conformities, and facilitating official inspections by authority inspectors
