Address by HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed AL Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority

Ever since its creation, the UAE has been keen to put into practice the philosophy of the late father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, by serving citizens and residents, securing decent and affluent living conditions throughout this generous country and promoting the society health and culture to the level of the civilized world societies. The prudent leadership has saved no effort to provide healthcare to the people, confident that creating a healthy society means, among other things, building of a strong, productive and innovative country.

In view of this, it is imperative to secure the provision of safe food, as the key element in building a sound body, and to avoid the hazards of food contamination. To achieve this goal, it has been necessary to create a strong scientific agency to undertake the responsibility for controlling circulating food, whether imported or produced locally. Through the unlimited support from HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President, the follow up by HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and pursuant to Law No. 2 of 2005, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) has been created to safeguard people against food-related hazards, ensure the safety and quality of food for human consumption and conduct the necessary studies and research to maintain food safety.

ADFCA, still under construction, aims to exercise strict control over the food market. This entails preparing highly qualified UAE technical staff to monitor the flow of food items and inspect various food companies, ensuring the quality and safety of what is offered to consumers. Moreover, ADFCA inspectors will be positioned at the different UAE ports to control the entry of imported food items and monitor expiry dates.

These activities can only be successful by adopting state-of-the-art technologies used worldwide, drawing upon the experiences of developed countries in this field and utilizing on-site electronic monitoring devices and laptop technologies to optimize inspection.

To enhance the efficiency of the qualified inspection teams, ADFCA has access to the most advanced laboratory equipment. Through the development of work processes, ADFCA staff are capable of carrying out lab tests on imported food items and checking their safety and compliance to the applicable local and international specifications.

ADFCA seeks to adopt a policy of investigating and tracking food sources along the food journey from the field to the dining table, through advanced research programs that cover all agricultural and animal products within the human food chain.

Since shouldering this responsibility, we believe that any effort, no matter how well supported, cannot fully achieve its objectives unless all elements of success are in place. We confidently believe that success lies in the interaction of the society and the private sector organizations with the objectives of the new ADFCA. Abiding by the prevention-is-better-than-cure principle will be the main guarantee for realizing the desired vision. Prevention here is achieved by promoting public awareness of the paramount food safety and by moderation on the part the public. For that purpose, an ADFCA website has been launched to provide an opportunity to communicate with the public and the concerned public and private organizations. This website will offer updated information on developments in the vital field of food safety, and will seek feedback from the public on how the ADFCA services can be improved.