Oman to create food safety body

The Council of Ministers in Oman has recently agreed to the establishment of the Food Quality and Safety Centre. According to a report in the Muscat Daily, this new facility will be an affiliate to the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR), and also work with the World Health Organization in promoting nutrition.

“It will be an umbrella organisation under which all the different government food monitoring units currently running will come under,” a senior official at MRMWR was quoted as saying in the daily. Whilst the country will be starting from scratch, there are many successful models to pattern its own, including those in Abu Dhabi and Europe.

The Council also agreed on the setup of a central referral laboratory with the aim of providing accurate results at the shortest time. It will test both local and imported food products. To improve efficiency, the minsters enjoined the private sector to open testing labs that will comply with the same regulations. (Photo ? Bright I Dreamstime.com)

Related link: Oman bans certain processed meat brands