The Sixth Dubai International Food Safety Conference (DIFSC) will bring together leaders in the field of food safety to discuss one of the most relevant and timely topics – Food Safety in the Emerging Economies.
The conference will be held under the patronage of Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and Chairman of Dubai Municipality, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, from 27 February to 2 March, 2011 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality on Tuesday announced the activities of the conference. He said that prominent food scares and changes in the international trading environment in the recent years have brought food safety to the forefront of international food policy concerns.
“Food control is a process that is becoming increasingly complex with the global trends and Dubai is not different”, he said.
Lootah quoted some data to explain the complexity of the situation in Dubai. “The number of food establishments has increased from 11,752 in 2009 to 13,761 in 2010. UAE imports more than 90 per cent of the foods consumed in the country and 80 per cent of this is imported through Dubai. Total imports have increased from approximately 4.8 million tonnes in 2009 to 6 million tonnes in 2010. Number of countries exporting food to Dubai was 145 in 2009 and it is 149 in 2010. Foods imported from six of the main emerging economies were 51 per cent in 2009 and 58 per cent in 2010”, he said.
“Recent trends in food control measures include an increased emphasis on food safety regulations in international trade, tightening of standards, re-orientation of private sector quality assurance techniques towards preventive management, and a corresponding shift by regulatory agencies toward process-based standards including “mandatory HACCP”, he pointed out.
He said the conference will provide the delegates a global view on how countries respond to these challenges with special emphasis on emerging economies.
Khalid Mohammed Sharif, Director of Food Control Department and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Conference said food safety experts from all over the world will meet at the conference to discuss about food safety systems and practices that are achievable, reliable and sustainable.
The Conference is organized with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Water in the UAE, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, U.A.E University and the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP).
1,240 people from 53 countries will participate in this year’s conference whereas the last year’s conference was attended by 1,100 people from 29 countries, adding that almost 40 different sessions are planned this year with speakers from all continents, he added.
WAM