Abu Dhabi food safety record improving, authority says

Food Authority says 290 violation notices were issued in 2012, compared to 800 the year before.

ABU DHABI // Eight food facilities were shut down and 300 tonnes of perished food items were destroyed in the capital last year, the Food Control Authority says.

The closures were made after inspectors from the authority reported hundreds of violations involving hygiene and conservation conditions.

In all, 290 violation notices were issued in 2012 and more than 19,500 warnings were given to below-standard food facilities.

The results mark a remarkable decrease compared to 2011, when inspectors issued more than 800 violation notices, according to Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National.

Food safety officials attribute the decrease to increasing levels of awareness.