EU offers help to promote health and food safety

THE European Union is willing to work with the UAE to promote food safety and to empower consumers to make healthy food choices, a senior official said.

John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer policy, conveyed the EU's offer to facilitate health and food safety at a meeting with the Environment and Finance ministries. 

Mr Dalli said given the threats of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, reformulation to reduce, sugar, salt and fat content of food products is an important issue. Food manufacturers in the EU have been pushed to offer healthier alternatives to consumers, he added.

Further cooperation between the UAE and EU in rapid information alerts on foodborne diseases, such as the H1N1 pandemic and the recent E. coli outbreak in bean sprouts in Germany, he also said.