Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority has carried out surprise visits on fresh meat storages in various parts of Abu Dhabi recently being part of its efforts to ensure safety and quality of food products sold and handled in emirate's markets.

During the visits, ADFCA officials inspected the capacity of storage machinery, transportation vehicles, product quality, and fulfilment of food safety requirements in addition to requirements for tracking & recall system.

The inspections ended up with issuing a number of violation and warning tickets as well as destroying food products which are found sub-standard and unfit.

Four vehicles, used to transport fresh chicken, were given violation tickets for not maintaining adequate temperature levels and a total amount of 157 kg chicken were ordered to be destroyed. Two warning tickets were served for fresh meat refrigerators for not separating returned and spoiled meat and for not updating temperature register properly. Eventually, 61 kg of meat products were confiscated to be destroyed safely.

In this regard, Ali Yousef Al Saad, Acting Director Communication & Community Service Division at ADFCA said: "Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority has been always keen to systematically inspect each and every food facility operating within the boundary of Abu Dhabi emirate in order to ensure that all mandatory requirements related to food safety are followed at its best. As meat shops, with the variety of its types, come one of the major food providers, we keep stringent mechanism to monitor them"

He said, apart from routine inspections ADFCA carries out random surprise inspections too in order contain any possible breeching of regulations, being part of its endeavor to provide safe food products to the consumers.