Abu Dhabi, September on 07, 2022: The Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC) said it has approved the third edition of the Abu Dhabi Guideline for Food Traded in Educational Institutions, which contains norms to maintain the health and safety of students and to support combating chronic lifestyle diseases.
QCC said such controls were necessary to safeguard the health of future generations and to ensure that food traded in Abu Dhabi educational institutions met the required standards.
The guide has been issued after the approval of the Permanent Technical Committee for Abu Dhabi Technical Standards, after it was reviewed by a technical working groupof the committee. The committee includes the Department of Education and Knowledge - which requested for the guideline, -the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, the Abu Dhabi Center for Public Health, the Department of Economic Development, the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and the Institute of Abu Dhabi Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and the Institute of Applied Technology.
His Excellency Badr Al-Shamili, Executive Director of the Council’s Conformity and Standardization Sector, and the Chairman of the Committee, said: "This is one of the most important tools to guide responsible departments for training supervisors, nutritionists, nurses, supervisors and canteen workers in educational institutions, as well as food suppliers in Abu Dhabi, to ensure that food provided to students conforms to the guide’s mandates.”
"The guide is meant for both government and private educational institutions in Abu Dhabi, and food suppliers to schools, or canteens in educational institutions. These entities have to adhere to the health rules and requirements in the guide, in addition to the special health norms they have to adhere to across the food supply chain – from sourcing to cooking to preserving and selling,” he added.
The guide has norms on providing safe food and the procedures to be followed at all stages of the food supply chain and on how to produce, prepare, store or distribute food ensuring safety and suitability for consumption in educational institutions. It also directs that responsible departments in educational institutions need to follow scientific and healthy handling methods in dealing with food that are sold in educational institutions.
The guide specifies the competencies of the concerned authorities and their roles in applying the norms of the guide while monitoring the canteen supervisors, hygiene and maintenance, quality of juices and others.
The updated guide includes many additions such as defining food categories, creating a red list of prohibited items, on adding foodstuffs as snacks etc. as per the latest scientific updates.
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