Campaign focuses on food safety at The Pearl-Qatar, Katara

Doha Municipality, represented by the health control section at the municipal control department, is carrying out a four-day awareness campaign at food establishments in The Pearl-Qatar and Katara.Running until tomorrow under the slogan, ‘Awareness without violations’, the campaign is aimed at training the employees of such establishments on food safety, the methods of preserving and displaying food items and ensuring hygiene during work, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) said in a tweet.Salem Hammoud al-Shafi, director of the municipal control department, and Mohamed Rashed al-Marri, head of the inspectors’ unit at the health control section, have taken part in the campaign along with a number of heath and food inspectors.  The initiative seeks to implement a comprehensive plan to train and instruct all workers engaged in the food and retail sectors on various aspects of food safety, as well as to educate consumers and school and university students on the safe and correct methods of shopping and selection of food, according to an MME statement.In this connection, al-Shafi announced that the municipality has adopted a comprehensive plan to train different sections of the community, including workers in the food and retail industries, on the proper methods of dealing with food products in order to keep them healthy and safe for consumption. The department will receive complaints and remarks from the public round-the-clock through a specialised team on the ministry’s hotline - 184. In addition, awareness booklets and brochures on related topics will be distributed to the public to raise awareness, while billboards will also spread the message at different shopping and consumer complexes. Besides, co-ordination will be maintained with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to hold seminars and workshop for students to raise their awareness on the issue.Najla Adulrahman al-Hail of Doha Municipality said the MME has provided the inspection staff, comprising veterinarians and health inspectors, with the latest equipment and tools in the field to help them properly carry out their designated tasks. Also, they receive training to improve their skills in order to cope with the latest methods and trends in the industry.  Al-Marri stressed that no violations were detected on the first day of the campaign.