Doha: The Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) have signed a food safety collaboration agreement.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Saleh Ali Al Marri, Assistant Minister of Public Health for Health Affairs, and Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Director General of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The signing of the agreement is a realization of the principle of partnership and cooperation between the public and private sectors in order to achieve the public interest, particularly in the areas of local and imported food compliance, public awareness of food safety, organizing training, and conducting tests.
The agreement is the result of the Ministry’s and the Chamber’s ongoing collaboration, as well as both parties’ recognition of the nature of food risks as multiple, renewable, and extending across the food chain. As a result, establishing partnerships among all parties concerned with food safety will have a significant impact on achieving the highest possible level of food safety on the one hand and facilitating the movement of food trade on the other.
Dr. Saleh Ali Al Marri, Assistant Minister of Public Health for Health Affairs, stated that the agreement falls within the framework of the Ministry’s efforts to improve food safety in the State of Qatar through collaboration with all partners to ensure the continued application of the best international criteria in this field.
Dr. Al Marri went on to say that the agreement includes many important areas and frameworks of cooperation between the Ministry of Public Health and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, most notably cooperation between the two sides in special events requiring exceptional measures, such as hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, food exhibitions, and other events, as well as providing technical expertise for the food sector in order to help develop, modernize, and modernize the food sector.
Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Director General of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expressed his delight at the signing of this agreement between the Chamber and the Ministry of Public Health. He stated that the agreement reflects the Chamber’s and the Ministry’s desire to strengthen food safety cooperation. Qatar Chamber will oversee the training and testing of food handlers and those in charge of handling food within the parameters agreed upon with the Ministry of Public Health in order to achieve the highest level of safety.
Al Sharqi noted that the Chamber and the Ministry of Public Health collaborate in other areas related to the private sector, as there is a joint committee composed of the two sides that meets on a regular basis to discuss all private sector issues related to the MOPH’s scope of work.
According to the agreement, cooperation between the Ministry of Public Health and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the field of local and imported food compliance will be achieved by exchanging information and distributing it to manufacturers and importers with the goal of applying the requirements with the necessary speed and accuracy. Before making legislation and enforcement decisions, this will also include assessing the impact of the legislation on stakeholders. Aside from the two parties exchanging experiences,
The agreement included many important terms, the most important of which was cooperation in the field of training and testing food handlers and those responsible for handling food stuffs. It also includes a program launched by the Ministry of Public Health to ensure that workers in various food facilities have the necessary food safety knowledge. The program is part of a one-year project spearheaded by the Qatar Chamber, which took the initiative by implementing practical training and testing through specific and clear controls agreed upon by the two parties and outlined in the terms of this agreement.
Source : thepeninsulaqatar
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