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Abu Dhabi to Boost Retail Sector

Source:Ringier Release Date:2011-06-09 833
Food & Beverage
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Plan calls for groceries to adopt global food safety standards

 More inspectors have been pressed into service to check high-risk food establishments (Photo by ADFCA) A COMPREHENSIVE plan to develop the retail stores sector in line with Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision is being finalised this year. The plan envisages sea changes to the sector, bringing benefits to all stake holders, such as consumers, owners, operators and neighborhoods in which grocery stores are located. The proposed changes will be unveiled in detail later this year, but the modernisation of the retail and grocery sector was very much a part of ADFCA's endeavors to achieve Abu Dhabi Government's Vision, said H.E Rashed Mohamed Al Shariqi, director general of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority.
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is currently involved in effecting a qualitative leap in all sectors by the third decade. The Vision 2030 aspires to develop a sustainable economic model that brings all round well being and prosperity in an atmosphere of environmental soundness. ADFCA and Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development will work together to implement the proposed improvement plans for the grocery sector.
 ADFCA director general Al Shariqi said the changes will necessitate the sector to adopt global food safety procedures in the running of groceries more rigorously. "The most important function of grocery stores is meeting the daily needs of consumers for foods and food products. A recent Government of Abu Dhabi-assigned study by an agency on the retail sector in the city concluded that Abu Dhabi residents had spent about Dhs3.4 bn in the year 2010 on food and beverages and other consumer goods, out of which small groceries accounted for Dhs1 bn," he explained the context of the proposed changes last month.
The study revealed that there are about 1,300 grocery stores in the city, with an approximate size of 45 square meters. Open for 16 hours and serving roughly 150 customers of varied nationalities and backgrounds a day, most grocery stores are located in residential or work areas in the city. Their proximity coupled with services such as home delivery and sale on credit make them an attractive option for the consumers. This dynamic sector stands to gain much if they uniformly implement global standards in their services, the study suggested.
"Our initiatives for the grocery sector are aimed at further improvement in standards. ADFCA has conducted a field survey on grocery stores in Abu Dhabi, the date from which will be used in putting together a new set of standards and incentives. Once implemented, the new standards will give the customers improved shopping experience, whilst the owners and operators will have better and more lucrative business opportunities," Al Shariqi.

 Neighbourhood grocery stores stand to gain much if they uniformly implement global standards (Photo by ADFCA)Intensified inspections
ADFCA have intensified inspections on high-risk food establishments, especially groceries. The intensification in monitoring measures is partly in anticipation of summer, during which food risks escalate considerably, and partly in response to a few complaints from the consumers.
"Since groceries maintain regular business with the consumers on a day to day basis and particularly since their business also involves home deliveries, they assume especial significance as far as public health is concerned. Therefore, ADFCA focuses special attention on groceries and inspections on them are intensified closer to the onset of summer," explained Mohamed Jalal Al Reyaysa, director of Communications and Community Service at ADFCA.
"The current intensification was necessitated by the dramatic spurt in violations in the previous year. The number of violatNike Special Forces Air Force 1 Boots

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