Abu Dhabi food control Authority today launched its second food safety campaign aiming at better educating consumers in terms of preparing, transporting and storing food whilst helping prevent any health risks that may result in transferring diseases or any food-associated health hazards

Themed �Your Food Safety is Between your Hands�, this is the second safety consumer-centric campaign being launched by ADFCA this summer

Mohamed Jalal Al Reyaysa, Director of Communications and Community Service at ADFCA, said: �Most people lack the required knowledge of how to better handle food. Hence there is an urgent need to provide advice, guidance and direction to them, and this campaign is a tool to demonstrate the benefits of best good handling practices whilst encouraging them to adopt such a  positive behavior.�

�With its easy to follow and simple step, the campaign is tailor-made to educated consumers on how  to avoid cross contamination of food that eventually leads to food poisoning, with focus on how conservation, separation process, and the suitable temperatures are all important factors that contribute to the safety of food�, he explained.

In order to achieve the maxium outreach of this campaign, ADFCA used different tools to emphasize on the safety aspects of handling food such as television ads, radio and print ads in addition to streets ads and shopping malls.

Mr. Al Reyaysa explained that the campaign will focus on a set of procedures that should be on a consumer�s priority list to follow, such as the need to separate meat, chicken and fish from fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator, avoid mixing raw food with ready- to-eat food, the need to refrigerate frozen food on 18 - degrees celsius or less to avoid corruption, the need to put cooked meals or leftovers in the refrigerator within two hours or less , the need to constantly cover food ,the need to avoid melting the frozen food at room temperature, and last but not least the importance of maintaining the temperature of the refrigerator should always be  less than 5 degrees Celsius.

With regards to cooking, the heat used should be higher than 70 degrees Celsius as it helps get rid of most harmful bacteria. For reheating meals, temperature must be higher than 63 degrees Celsius, especially for sauces, soups, gravies. One must always use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the food.

�This campaign is part of ADFCA�s commitment and ongoing awareness programmes aimed to protect the health of consumers and their interests. ADFCA believes that food safety is a shared responsibility that requires positive interaction, cooperation and active participation of by all stakeholders, led by consumers�, Mr. Al Reyaysa concluded.