ABU DHABI // Restaurants, groceries and other food sellers will face many more inspections in 2010, food safety officials pledged yesterday. They also said they would try to convince people to not buy more food than they need.
In announcing its end-of-year statistics yesterday, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority said its inspectors had temporarily shut down 76 restaurants and groceries in the emirate over the 12 months.
They conducted more than 60,000 spot checks in restaurants, groceries, meat counters and hotel eateries. They handed out almost 15,000 warnings and 800 fines.
This is believed to be the first time the authority has released comprehensive statistics for a full year to the media, making it difficult to determine whether more penalties were handed down than in past years.
The food authority has a three-tier system to punish food-safety offenders. Warnings come first, and repeat violators are fined and then closed if they do not address the authority's concerns.
In December alone, the authority temporarily closed five establishments in the capital: Golden Fork on Khalifa Street was closed because of an insect infestation, staff not adhering to uniform codes, exposed garbage bins and sewage pipes and improper defrosting of food; Al Fardoos Grocery on Airport Road was shut for selling expired products, poor general hygiene and proliferation of insects; and the Khorfakkan Restaurant and Kitchen on Salam Street was closed due to cockroaches and rust in the refrigerator.
Two establishments in Al Ain - Al Badiya Kitchen and Farhana Grocery - were also closed temporarily.
The authority also said it would continue naming offenders. Fear of exposure in the media has been a factor in merchants' cleaning up their businesses, it said.
"A lot of them do not want to fall in the circle of fines and closures which harms the name of the establishment and reduces its customers," said Mohammed al Reyaysa, the food authority spokesman.
The policy "also helped in reducing the number of violations to a great extent because of greater awareness among the owners of food establishments and workers there of hygiene requirements and food safety laws", he said.
The agency's strategy for 2010 will involve a higher number of inspections. New legislation will also spell out food safety procedures more clearly. Repeated closures will result in jail sentences for restaurant operators. The law is expected to take effect early this year.
A spokesman for Lulu Hypermarkets, whose meat counter in Al Wahda Mall was closed last summer for selling expired meat and other offences, said the inspections had helped his stores better understand hygiene requirements.
"We fully agree with the policy of the Government to increase inspections," he said. "What we also like to see is more interaction and communication between retailers and the officials so they can inform us and train us with regards to the new guidelines, especially when new initiatives come into force."
The food authority also stressed the need to educate customers in food safety, adding that education would form a core part of its strategy for the new year.
Many consumers buy more groceries than they need, according to the agency, with some using as little as 20 per cent.
This leads to a lot of waste, but a bigger problem is the consumption of food past its expiration date, which can lead to food poisoning, Mr al Reyaysa said.
Some shoppers questioned the efficacy of trying to change consumer habits.
"There is no way you can control consumer behaviour, because number one, the supermarkets want to make money and you can't tell people 'buy less,'" said Halla Sheblaq, 25, a Palestinian-American landscape architect.
"Number two, consumers won't listen to you anyway. It is my choice if I want to buy 10 apples or two. Even if the goal is to spread awareness I don't think it will work in the UAE, because the UAE culture is a highly consuming one."
kshaheen@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Haneen Dajani
School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
%3Cp%3EThe%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20-%20Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Arabic%20Language%20Centre%20will%20mark%20International%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Day%20at%20the%20Bologna%20Children's%20Book%20Fair%20with%20the%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Translation%20Conference.%20Prolific%20Emirati%20author%20Noora%20Al%20Shammari%2C%20who%20has%20written%20eight%20books%20that%20%20feature%20in%20the%20Ministry%20of%20Education's%20curriculum%2C%20will%20appear%20in%20a%20session%20on%20Wednesday%20to%20discuss%20the%20challenges%20women%20face%20in%20getting%20their%20works%20translated.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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The specs
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Torque: 859Nm
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Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
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Rating: 4/5
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
