A day with an Abu Dhabi restaurant health inspector

Tens of thousands of evaluations have taken place in the emirate this year

Authorities in Abu Dhabi have carried out inspections in more than 55,000 food outlets so far this year.

The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority would not reveal how many inspections led to businesses being closed, but outlets with confirmed cases of food poisoning are shut with immediate effect and cannot reopen until they pass an inspection.

Establishments where customers previously suffered food poisoning and outlets that had complaints made against them through official channels are most likely to be under enhanced scrutiny, as is any business that received a low grade in previous inspections.

Inspections were carried out in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra, with evaluations made at restaurants, cafes, cloud kitchens and schools, as well as business that recently received a licence to operate.

Here, The National accompanied Mariam Al Menthri, a senior inspector at the authority, as she carried out an inspection at the Sugar and Salt restaurant in Al Bateen.

What happens during an inspection?

Ms Al Menthri first took a close look at the walls and floors, as well as counters where food is prepared.

Sugar and Salt in Al Bateen is inspected by the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority. Wajod Alkhamis / The National

She then made sure ventilation and air conditioning were working well. Poor heat management can be a major problem for restaurants, she said, because food stored at the wrong temperature raises the risk of giving customers food poisoning. Next on her checklist was the level of cleanliness and ensuring there is no indication of cross-contamination.

"It's essential that I check they separate ready-to-eat food from raw items to ensure there will be no contamination," she said.

She then addressed the head chef and asked him for documents and invoices related to the business. "We check the licence and make sure all staff have a training certificate on food safety essentials," she explained. "We check any document related to calibration, temperature records and the transportation supplier list as well, to make sure that all their procedures are well documented.

"Having done this for 10 years, for me the most important thing is the behaviour of the food handlers, because they might cause food poisoning if they have bad hygiene practices.

"For [food] poisoning cases to be proven, we should have hospital reports by a health authority. They give us all the information about a poisoning case and where it happened and then we conduct our own investigation. If it's proven by a lab test, [there is] immediate closure for that particular establishment and they cannot reopen again till they fix all non-compliances [with food safety rules]."

When it comes to responding to customer complaints, the authority will conduct an inspection that could result in a warning or fine. Repeat offenders risk being forced to close. The most common complaints made by customers are hairs in food and unsanitary conditions.

Sugar and Salt restaurant displays its rating after an inspection. Wajod Alkhamis / The National

Numbers game

The number of inspections is down from the same period last year, when there were more than 80,000 inspections carried out. That is because businesses can perform a self inspection an app provided by the authority, allowing the outlet to go through the same checklist used by inspectors.

Another app is used by food inspectors, which is a risk-based system that takes into account the number of confirmed food poisoning cases, how many complaints have been upheld and the current hygiene rating of outlets. The authority uses the results to determine where in-person inspections should take place.

On the spot

Inspections happen without notice and can vary in frequency. Kiran Sankar, general manager of Gravity Hotel, said inspectors arrived about three times a month, which meant it was important to remain ready at all times.

"Internal inspection is important," he said. "If we discover there is any corrective action needed, we have to do it."