Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, the fourth edition of SIAL Middle East, the regional edition of one of the largest food industry exhibitions in the world, will take place during November 24 � 26 this year at the Abu Dhabi National Convention Centre.

Organized by Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) and executed by SIAL Middle East Company, the fourth edition of SIAL Middle East will see the participation of a large number of international food companies, with 72% of them exhibiting their products for the first time in the region.

Mohamed Jalal Al Rayssi, Chairman of the Organizing Committee for SIAL Middle East, said the new edition would have a strong component of organic foods for which a separate area would be allocated. "There will also be a separate area, for the first time ever, for health foods. The products exhibited in these two areas will have to be compliant with all the rules and regulations laid down by the organizing committee," he explained.

Al Rayssi said that the exhibitors had showed particular interest in the two special areas as organic and health foods enjoyed massive popularity. "Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority was always encouraging consumers to try organic and health foods as they guaranteed health and safety for the people," he added.

Al Rayssi said that SIAL Middle East had begun meeting the food requirements of the regional markets, which imported 90% of the food items they needed, especially for essential items such as rice, barley and corn. SIAL Middle East is an ideal umbrella under which large manufacturers of foods assemble to open new markets and to introduce the latest trends and developments in the food industry," he pointed out.

A recent study from Alpine Capital indicated that the consumption of food in the GCC region would reach 51.5 million tons by the year 2015, with an annual increase of 4.6% every year during 2011-2015, whereas the same during 2007-2010 was 4.1% and the increase in per capita food consumption for this period was 2.1%.

The sale of food products in the UAE reached 7.73 billion in the year 2011 and is expected to rise by 36.1% to reach 10.52 by the year 2015.