The food safety sector of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) held a workshop entitled "Labor Cities: Challenges and Difficulties."
The workshop was aimed at building strategic partnerships between ADFCA and other food-related institutions, enhancing the health and safety standards of catering, guaranteeing the quality of food being serviced in labor cities and exploring and giving solutions to the problems faced by catering units in labor cities.
The discussions at the workshop revolved around three principal topics: designing kitchens in labor cities, processes of preserving and transporting foods in and out of them and the places for packing foods. The workshop concluded that many companies do not have a proper mechanism for preparing food, which poses health risks.
The kitchens suffer from lack of adequate space for preserving, cooking and packing food. The areas for receiving and handing over food are not in line with the health regulations.  In many cases, changing rooms for workers to change clothes have not been designed adjacent to the kitchens. The speakers stressed that improper preservation, transportation and distribution of food will pose huge food safety risks. Of high importance is the need for using specially equipped vehicles for transporting food items, the speakers pointed out.