MUSCAT: The 4th meeting of the GCC Ministerial Committee on Food Safety, hosted by the Sultanate, was held at the headquarters of the Consultative Authority of the GCC Supreme Council on Monday.
The meeting was chaired by Ahmed bin Abdullah al Shuhi, Minister of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, who said in his speech that the meeting is aimed at enhancing the joint GCC action in the field of food safety and the importance of standardizing procedures to ensure the safety and quality of food in order to face the challenges, changes and modern technologies in the production and circulation of food.
He stressed the need to place food safety as a top priority and support the existing system by all available means, especially in light of the high incidence of diseases due to unhealthy or contaminated food.
On his part, Dr Abdul Latif bin Rashid al Zayani, GCC Secretary General said, “Food security represents a very important challenge in the present era. It is the responsibility of the countries of the world to find suitable solutions not only to provide food but also to ensure its safety and suitability for human consumption for the protection of public health, in light of the increasing risks and diseases transmitted by water and food”.
The meeting discussed a range of important topics related to food safety in the GCC countries, the foremost of which are the executive regulations of the GCC Unified Food Law, follow-up of decisions taken by the Ministerial Committee at the third meeting, Gulf Food Safety Day for 2017 and 2018, and the Gulf Food Safety Committee’s Strategic Plan (2019-2022).
The meeting also reviewed the unification of the mechanism for the accreditation of Halal agencies and centres around the world and the mechanism for banning and lifting the ban of importing meat and its products. — ONA
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