فحص المنتجات الغذائية عند وصولها أسواق الخضار والفواكه واللحوم

The Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture has approved a set of regulations and requirements that establishments located in public markets for vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, and fish must adhere to. The ministry emphasized the necessity for establishments to provide air or plastic curtains at the external entrance doors to prevent the entry of insects, and to ensure natural or artificial lighting, or both, throughout the establishment, provided that the artificial lighting does not alter the nature of colors, with the intensity of the lighting suitable for the nature of the operations, along with the necessity of providing a backup power generator.

The ministry mandated that establishments provide natural or artificial ventilation, or both, to prevent temperature rise, condensation of vapors, and accumulation of dust and dirt, and to remove contaminated air, while maintaining cleanliness continuously. The use of swamp coolers is prohibited.

The regulations confirmed the necessity of providing a number of suitable handwashing sinks, preferably equipped with faucets that operate by remote sensing, foot, knee, or elbow, with water supply at a sufficient temperature, along with placing informative labels in appropriate locations, and providing waste containers, liquid soap, and highly absorbent paper towels or air dryers, or both.

The ministry's regulations stipulated that the establishment must be equipped with suitable facilities for the activity, ensuring that the raw materials used in manufacturing equipment that comes into contact with food do not allow harmful substances to transfer to the food. The design of the utensils and surfaces of the equipment that come into contact with food should be safe, highly durable, and resistant to corrosion; to withstand repeated washing processes and be easy to clean.

The regulations clarified the necessity for equipment requiring lubricating materials to be designed and manufactured in such a way that lubricating materials cannot leak or fall into the food, and on surfaces that come into contact with food, while preventing the use of wood. The storefronts must be made of transparent glass to allow visibility from inside and outside, with display and storage shelves extending towards the storefront, and no display or storage directly on the storefront from inside or outside. Regarding general cleanliness requirements, the ministry emphasized the necessity of washing, cleaning, and disinfecting equipment, tools, and buildings in a manner that prevents food contamination, regularly, to keep them continuously clean, and the presence of drainage openings for washing water, adhering to the requirement that washing water does not exit the boundaries of the establishment. All cleaning compounds and disinfectants used on surfaces that come into contact with food must be non-harmful to food and should be stored in cabinets or designated areas.

Disinfection and Maintenance of Refrigerators

The ministry required these types of establishments to place informative labels regarding adherence to general cleanliness rules in various areas of the establishment, making them visible to all employees in their languages, and they must comply with them. Refrigerators must be cleaned and disinfected continuously to ensure product safety, and open sale refrigerators should be placed away from heat sources or direct sunlight. Accumulated ice in regular refrigerators must be removed periodically, along with conducting regular maintenance of the refrigerators. Regarding pest control requirements, the ministry stressed the necessity of inspecting food products upon arrival to ensure there are no pests present, and the availability of devices that kill flying insects. The ministry emphasized the need for screens and traps on drainage openings to prevent pest entry, using safe public health pesticides registered with the General Authority for Food and Drug when previous natural methods are ineffective, without contaminating food, equipment, and facilities, preferably through specialized companies in this field.