Government of Dubai | Dubai Municipality

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THE FOODWATCH PLATFORM

Foodwatch is a cutting-edge digital platform for food safety and nutrition anchored in Dubai Municipality's vision of making Dubai the healthiest, happiest and the most sustainable city.

The Platform

The Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality developed the Foodwatch platform to facilitate data exchange between authorities, food businesses, service providers and consumers. By utilizing digital monitoring techniques, data analytics and customized applications, the platform will offer full traceability of foods with validated ingredient and nutritional information. Smart contracts, services and customized applications will deliver every user a unique experience based on their requirements. Digitalized exchange of data will enable delivery of real-time assurance based on predictive insight, from what went wrong to what is likely to go wrong.

All food establishments and related service providers must be registered on the Foodwatch platform as per the mandate of Dubai Municipality.

The Network

The platform will connect all stakeholders, products and processes in a unique and trusted digital network and make life better for everyone. When it reaches optimum utilization, Foodwatch will fundamentally facilitate trust among parties and decrease transaction costs by reducing duplication, reconciliation, and record-keeping tasks.

The People

A multi-disciplinary team from the Food Safety and Information Technology Departments of Dubai Municipality manages the Foodwatch platform. Authorized personnel from Science Tribune currently manage the data collection process.

Food Safety Mandate

Digital technology has the potential to affect every aspect of food safety, enabling organizations to identify and manage food safety risks more precisely. Foodwatch provides a powerful infrastructure that will not only digitalize documents, procedures and records, but also serve as an interface for real-time interaction. As a single platform that connects all users that includes the government, food establishments and service providers, Foodwatch will help users verify anything and everything with certainty across the food supply chain.

A Digital Identity

Every organization in the system and everyone using the system including the persons in charge (PIC) of food safety in every food establishment, food handlers, consultant, trainers and auditors will have a unique, safe and secure digital identity.

Near Zero Paperwork

Food safety management systems have been largely paper based and it costs both food industry and the government enormous time and resources to maintain and verify records and documents related to these systems. Foodwatch will transform this by building trust around digital, immutable, permanent and auditable record-keeping. Documents related to supplier verification, certification, product and process information, training documents, temperature monitoring records, pest monitoring program, cleaning and disinfection records etc. are some of the examples of documents that would be fully digitalized.

Traditional documents of approvals and permits that can be tampered with or could be lost will be replaced with 'Smart Permits' (inspired by smart contracts).

Data Driven Decisions

By moving to digital records, Foodwatch will open up information silos and enable data sharing and connectivity with other digital ecosystems. This will help Dubai Municipality and the food businesses make data-driven strategies and decisions.

Built in rules and algorithms in the platform will validate information and provide instant decisions and real-time permits. This will significantly improve the services offered by the Food Safety Department.

End to End Traceability

Foodwatch will make it possible to quickly trace food products to their source for enhanced food authenticity and safety. By connecting food producers, processors, distributors, supplier, retailers and regulators and by providing immutable records, Foodwatch will provide enhanced visibility and accountability throughout the food supply chain.

Have a look at the short video to understand more about FoodWatch via or click on this link

USING FOODWATCH

Food safety checks are an important part of a good food safety management system. A lot of paper-based records and follow up visits and calls need to be carried out to ensure that the food safety management system is working effectively. The self inspection tool on FoodWatch Connect is your ultimate tool to ensure that you not only record the checks, but also take follow up action at the same. It will help you manage food safety within your organisation and also manage your service providers such as training centers, suppliers, transportation contractors and pest contractors.

Role of Person in Charge:

A person in charge has to ensure that the food premises are clean and hygienic before the start of food operations in a shift. This should include a check of the entire area, equipment cleaning, floor, walls and ceiling and the surroundings. Once the check is made, the PIC has to enter the observations on the ‘Start up’ check. A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is all that is required in the form of ‘checks’. If any problems are noticed, the PIC must use the ‘Equipment Check’ to enter the details of what was observed such as an unclean equipment or an area.

He or she has to check the food handlers before they start their work. If there are any ill employees, the person must be excluded from the work. Personal hygiene must also be verified at this time. Do not check the box if there are ill employees or personal hygiene issues.

If pest issues are found, you can directly send that observation to your contractor. Follow up action is automatically initiated in this case.

You MUST perform operations checks daily and if there are multiple shifts, before the shift begins.

Role of Secondary PICs

Food temperature checks must be verified regularly by the Secondary PICs ( operations folks such as the chefs, supervisors etc). As a part of your legal requirements, you must perform as many checks as possible to ensure that all products that you serve are cooked. Cooking, hot holding, cooling etc should be verified for every batch or based on your own risk assessment process. In the case of hot holding, temperature has to be verified every hour of holding. In the case of cooling, temperature must be recorded at the start and end of cooling.

However, not all data has to be entered in to Foodwatch Connect. Any deviations MUST be recorded. If there are no deviations, at least one record per process should be recorded per shift.

Equipment Check

In case there are any issues with the holding, with an associated equipment failure, details must be provided in the ‘equipment check’. For instance, if the hot holding temperature of rice is lower than required in a particular bain-Marie, the PIC has to record the temperature of rice and then add an additional record under ‘equipment check’ and indicate the action you have taken (say, schedule maintenance).

It is also important to verify the performance of the equipment daily. At least 4 different equipments must be verified daily and details recorded.

Food Delivery

Food should be accepted only from approved suppliers. Verify the supplier's Food Safety Performance status using Foodwatch. Simply search the business name of license and click on the QR code that appears on the entities interface to see their Food Safety Rating.

For checking the permit status of the Food Transportation Vehicle, type in the Plate number of the vehicle under 'Delivery check'. Report any un-registered vehicle directly to the Dubai Municipality.

Checking the delivery of foods and accepting what is safe and rejecting what is unsafe is a critical step in managing food safety. A business should record at least 4 checks in a day during receiving of food items. However, all rejections MUST be recorded on FoodWatch.

Food Permits

PIC's can use the Smart Permits tool to request permits for Layout Assessment, Approval of Consultancy and Training Companies, Approval of Food and Nutrition Safety Internal Trainer, Food Activity At Events, Mobile Food Truck, Non-Halal Food Activity, School Supply Permit, Kiosk, Vending Machine, Food Promotion and Temporary Permit for changes related to food labels or packages.

You can apply for Food Permits from the 'entity interface.' Find out here how you can easily apply for these permits.

While you are expected to check food temperature as per the Food Code and standard operating procedures in your establishment, you must always prioritize entry of details of ‘high risk’ foods on Connect. Remember, all exceptions must be recorded. Any deviation from the requirement must be Recorded on Connect.

Ensuring that all your preparation areas, equipment, food vehicles, and food handler details are on your entity interface is a Pre-requisite to using FoodWatch connect.

FoodWatch Connect has a very powerful data analysis system at the backend and you will be able to see different trends over time. Primary PICs can use dashboards to view the performance.

Use your FoodWatch Connect App in your daily checks

Learn how to use FoodWatch Connect to conduct daily inspections, record actions, and manage food safety at your workplace. Persons in charge of food business (PIC) can attend the hands-on training that we provide twice a week. You can register now and join the live training provided by FoodWatch team.

Click here to register for a session:

Foodwatch PIC Session will resume after the 15th DIFSC 2021

Free Online Learning Modules for Food Safety

Take benefit of the free online training materials from Dubai Municipality. Just click on the modules to learn more.

Training Program for Food Handlers

Food handlers can take free online learning now through the links below.

Module 1: Introduction Personal Hygiene (English/ Arabic/ Urdu/ Malayalam)

Module 2: Introduction to Food Hazards and Control Measures (English/ Arabic/ Urdu/ Malayalam)

Module 3: Introduction to Supplier Management (English/ Arabic/ Urdu/ Malayalam)

Module 4: Introduction to Pest Management (English/ Arabic/ Urdu/ Malayalam)

Module 5: Food Safety Critical Control Points (English/ Arabic/ Urdu/ Malayalam)

Module 6: Egg Safety

Training For Person-in-Charge (PIC)

Module 1: Introduction to digital documentation of food safety using Foodwatch

Module 2: How can a Person in Charge Manage and Verify Safety of Delivery Vehicles

Training Program for Food Delivery Personnel

Food delivery personnel free online learning now though the links below.

Module 1: Introduction Personal Hygiene

Module 2: Introduction to Food Hazards and Control Measures

Module 3: Introduction to Food Suppliers and Requirements for Safe Delivery of Foods

Module 4: Precautions for ensuring safety of delivery bikes- Demo Video

Module 5: How can a Person in Charge Manage and Verify Safety of Delivery Vehicles

All food businesses must ensure compliance to Dubai Food Code at all times. The following additional requirements provided in the tables apply during the interim period from April 2020 until further notice. To find more about the requirements specific to COVID-19 from the Health and Safety Department of Dubai Municipality,

Food business related information are provided in the circular number 45, Version 7

Summary of main practices that all food establishments must follow

Updated on 23 January 2021

Table 1

	Instructions to Food Establishments
Cleaning and Disinfection- General Areas	Mandatory cleaning and disinfection using approved disinfectants* (biocides). Use the supplier management interface of Foodwatch to select suppliers of approved disinfectants and create Smart Contracts with your suppliers.
Cleaning and Disinfection of Hand Contact Surfaces	Mandatory frequent cleaning and disinfection using approved disinfectants* (biocides). *If the disinfectant provided by the supplier is not listed in the approved list, the supplier should be required to provide details of registration on Monteji.
Cleaning and Disinfection of High-Touch Areas	Mandatory frequent cleaning and disinfection using approved disinfectants* (biocides), at least every half hour. Report disinfection using the Foodwatch Connect App (click here to see the demo to use the App).
Customer Facilities	Ensure hand-washing facilities are accessible and is equipped with soap and running water at all times. Provide approved hand sanitizers in customer areas. Door handles that are hand operated should preferably be replaced with foot operated or be automated to prevent hand contact.
Social Distancing among Employees/contractors/Customers	Maintain social distancing of 2 Meters at all times (avoid close contact between staff, customers and visitors).
Customer Courtesy, Health Requirements and Signage	Customers shall not be allowed entry if they show signs and symptoms of flu such as cough or fever. Measures must be in place to check the body temperature before the guests are allowed entry in to the food establishment. Businesses within a mall or a shopping centre need not check the temperature if the customer has been checked at the entrance of the mall. All food businesses must place Customer Advisory Poster at the customer entry points. Consumer advisory poster must be printed in the exact dimensions specified by Dubai Municipality(Height 60 cm x Width 40 cm). In supermarkets and larger stores where visibility of the poster could be low, roll-up banners should be used. Download poster and rollup
Personal Habits and Hygiene	Maintain high levels of personal hygiene at all times. Employees must avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth Avoid handshakes and close contact. More information in Section 4
Health Status Reporting	Employees must report any illness to the person in charge immediately. Seek medical care immediately. Reportable symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath and body ache. More information in Section 4 Employees must also report to the management if they are in contact with any ill person. If an employee is confirmed positive with COVID-19 infection, follow the requirements listed in Section 3
Hand-washing	Wash hands frequently, especially after any interaction with surfaces that could be contaminated. Wash hands after touching mouth, nose, or eyes. Ensure hand-washing is done with soap for at least 20 seconds More information in Section 4
Protective Clothing	Wear clean and suitable uniforms. Face masks must be used properly at all times at work and disposed correctly. Disposable hand gloves should preferably be used at all times and replaced appropriately. More information in Section 4
Food Delivery Vehicles and Personnel	Delivery person shall maintain adequate health precautions listed in Section 4. Delivery person should maintain social distancing, follow personal hygiene habits mentioned under section 4 and stay 2 meters away from the individuals to whom the food is delivered. Single use gloves must be worn when delivering food, collecting cash and while handling payment devices. There should be an approved disinfectant with the delivery person at all times. Gloves must be replaced after each delivery and hands must be washed with soap before and after each delivery. If there are multiple deliveries in a single trip, use approved hand sanitizers between two deliveries. Ensure that vehicle providers are added to the supplier management interface of Foodwatch. Click here to learn more about managing transportation vehicles and delivery. Ensure that food delivery units, bags and associated materials are cleaned and disinfected after every delivery.
Foodwatch App	Foodwatch Connect App must be used to verify personal hygiene, report illness, verify cleaning and disinfection and report any delivery vehicles that are not registered with Dubai Municipality.
Responsibilities of the Person in Charge (PIC)	In addition to the food safety responsibilities, the PICs must ensure that the requirements listed in this document are met at all times, including but not limited to: -Ensuring that all employees at work are free of symptoms of illness such as fever and cough at the start of work and the status recorded in the daily roaster. Anyone with even mild cough or low-grade fever (37.3 C or more), cough or shortness of breath should be asked to stay home. Seek medical care immediately. Refer to section 4 of this document for more details. -Ensuring that sufficient facilities are provided for cleaning and disinfection in all areas. Ensuring that there is adequate supply of PPE (gloves, masks), disinfectants and cleaning tools at all times. Ensuring that all emergency contact numbers are provided to the employees. Ensuring that cleaning and disinfection processes are documented using the

Summary of main practices that all food retail establishments must follow

Table 2 below lists the practices the specific food retail businesses must implement in addition to the requirements listed in Table 1.Food service establishments must follow these requirements until further notice.

Table 2

	Restaurants/ Cafeteria/ Café/Coffee Shop	Hotels	Staff Canteen	Departmental Stores/Supermarket/ All Stores
Dine-in	Permitted with social distancing measures. There must be 3 Metres distance maintained between two tables. Distancing rules do not apply to family members. Friends and members of groups must follow distancing requirements. A maximum of 7 guests are allowed per table. Large tables shall not be adjacent to each other.	Permitted with social distancing measures. There must be 3 Metres distance maintained between two tables. A maximum of 7 guests are allowed per table. Large tables shall not be adjacent to each other.	Permitted with social distancing measures.	NA
Open Buffet	To remain closed until further notice. Service staff can dispense food to customers with social distancing followed.	To remain closed until further notice. Service staff can dispense food to customers with social distancing followed.	Food must be provided only to the staff with entry controlled to keep the numbers lower. No entry for visitors Dispense the food through service staff as much as possible. Replace the hand contact utensils such as serving spoons frequently.	NA
Self Service Counters	Self service areas must remain closed until further notice.	Ensure self service equipment are handled by hotel staff.	Self service areas must remain closed until further notice.	Self service areas must remain closed until further notice.
Waiting Area	Waiting areas must remain closed until further notice.	NA	NA	NA
Delivery and Pick Up	Home delivery of foods can be done with adequate precautions listed in Table 1. Drive-through are allowed to operate with adequate precautions. Customers can pick up food from restaurants if the health and social distancing measures are strictly followed.

Juice and Water dispensers	Juice dispensers must be operated by service staff as much as possible. Water dispensers must have disposable cups Dispensing equipment, especially the hand contact areas must be disinfected at least every half hour or more frequently during busy hours.
Common Areas	Do not allow people to gather in common areas. Provide approved hand sanitizers in common areas. Disinfect chairs, tables and other hand touch surfaces regularly.
Communication with employees and customers	Communicate with employees both formally and informally about protective and preventive measures as listed in section 4 of this document.

Requirements for Dine-in Facilities

The following additional requirements apply to establishments that provide dine-in facilities to customers.

Table 3

Dine-in Timing	Timing: Dine-in timings have to be in accordance with the timings of the National Sterilization program.
Dine-in Capacity	Maximum Capacity: There are no restrictions on the seating capacity. However, there should be a table to table distance of 2 Meters. When physical barriers are used, the barrier must be capable of completely protecting the adjacent customers from contact and direct air movement. Social distancing Social distancing requirements of 2 meters between any two customers must be met unless the customers are from the same family and same household.
Serving Utensils and Cutlery	Food should preferably be served on disposable, individually wrapped plastic utensils / dishes / packages only, along with disposable cutlery. In food establishments where there are facilities to mechanically wash and disinfect utensils, use of disposable cutlery is not mandatory. The temperature of dishwashing process, surface contact time, and the dosage of the disinfectant shall meet the requirements specified by the equipment and disinfectant suppliers with documented evidence that the process is effective to give the desirable pathogen reduction.
Guest Courtesy and Signage	All food businesses must place Customer Advisory Poster at the customer entry points. Consumer advisory poster must be printed in the exact dimensions specified by Dubai Municipality (Height 60 cm x Width 40 cm). In supermarkets and larger stores where visibility of the poster could be low, roll-up banners should be used. Download poster and rollup

Updates in Requirements for Social Distancing

Last updated on 3 November 2021, 19:30 hrs

Social distancing between individuals has been reduced from 2 M to 1 M.

Distance between tables and chairs in restaurants can be reduced to meet the revised requirements.

Updates in Protocols for Food Service Businesses (Restaurants, Cafeteria, Coffee Shops) and Shisha Cafe

Last updated on 12 August 2021, 08:00 hrs

The Supreme Committee for Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management in the Emirate of Dubai has updated the preventive measures to be followed for COVID-19. Starting from 12^th August 2021 the following changes apply:

Distance between tables can be decreased from 2 m to 1.5 m
Return to pre-pandemic operational hours

Other regulations and restrictions on food sampling and tasting, sushi conveyors etc remain unchanged until further notice.

Updates in protocols for Food Service Businesses and Shisha Cafe

Last updated on 17 May, 2021, 14:00 hrs

The Supreme Committee for Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management in the Emirate of Dubai has updated the preventive measures to be followed for COVID-19. Starting from 17^th May, 2021 the following changes apply:

Increase seating capacity on single table to 10 person in restaurants and 6 person in shisha cafes
Maintain 2 meter distance between tables at all times
Restaurants, cafes and shisha cafes to close by 1.00 AM for service. Take-away and home delivery operations can remain open after this time.

Partitions cannot be used as an alternative for spacing between the tables.

Ramadan Specific Information for Food Service Businesses and Shisha Cafe

Last updated on 13 April 2021, 16:00 hrs

Further to the memo from the Dubai Economy (DED) dated 12 April 2021, dine-in facilities in food establishments can remain open during the holy month of Ramadan. Additional permits are not required to offer dine-in, take-away, and home delivery services.

Dine-in areas can remain open without additional screens and curtains.

Outdoor seating areas should remain closed for service until iftar time.

Shisha cafés should remain closed until the iftar time.

There are no changes in the closing times. All food businesses and shisha cafés must close at 4 am.

Take-away, drive-through, and delivery services can be continued.

Restaurant Closure Time

Last updated on 09 April 2021

Restaurants, cafe's are required to close dine-in services at 4.00 am.

Take-away, drive-through, and delivery services can be continued.

Social distancing requirement of 3 meters between tables remains unchanged.

Shisha cafe's must close at 4:00 am.

Circular Number 45, Version 7 has been released for Food Establishments

Last updated on 24 January 2021

Circular number 45 has been revised with changes in the following:

Table to table distance for dine in facilities have to be maintained at 3 M. The distance has to be measured from the edge of one table to the other. The use of physical barroers and separators will not serve as an alternative for distance between the table.
Maximum number of guests in a table must be limited to 7 per table.

For further details, visit the website of Dubai Municipality

Circular Number 45, Version 3 has been released for Food Establishments

Last updated on 24 September 2020

Circular number 45 has been revised with changes in the following:

Table to table distance for dine in facilities have to be maintained at 2 M. Physical barriers can be used when distance cannot be maintained.
Maximum number of guests in a table must be limited to 8 per table. Do not keep large tables together.

Check the Foodwatch Messenger for more details.

New Requirements for Sale and Display of Defrosted Chicken

Last updated on 12 August 2020

Supermarkets and Departmental Stores are required to strictly follow the below instructions from Food Safety Department in Dubai Municipality

In case of displaying/ selling pieces or parts of defrosted chicken (marinated or not marinated), there should be a clear and legible label on the package or the display area clearly stating that the product was ‘Defrosted’ and the declaration must be made in Arabic & English.
It`s prohibited to display or sell whole chicken that has been defrosted
There should be complete segregation in the display chiller between the defrosted chicken items and the fresh chicken items that have been locally produced or imported.
A sign board with (Defrosted items should not be refreezed) should be fixed in the display area for defrosted chicken.
PIC`s should assure that the establishment will not receive nor handle any defrosted chicken items which is not meeting the above mentioned requirements.

Updates on Requirements of Food and Beverage Outlets -4

Last updated on 19 June 2020

The Food Safety Department has updated the following requirements:

Food service business can now use traditional plates, glassware, cutlery and utensils after effective cleaning and disinfection using methods recommeded in the Food Code. Use of disposable plates, cups etc are no longer mandatory.
Buffet services can be opened in food service business with restrictions. Food must be served by the service staff and beverages must be served on the tables. Customers should follow social distancing requirements while queuing and shall not be allowed to touch any common utensils.

Updates on Requirements of Food and Beverage Outlets -3

Last updated on 15 June 2020

The Food Safety Department has updated the following requirements:

Food service business can now use traditional plates, cutlery and utensils after effective cleaning and disinfection using methods recommeded in the Food Code.
Seating capacity must be maintained with social distancing rules in place. Any two customers who are not from the same household or family must be seated at a distance of 2 M between each person.
Distance between two tables can be reduced if physical separators are used. Such separtors must be installed in a way that it provides complete physical barrier between the individuals seated on the different tables. The separators must be of appropriate height to fully separate customers seated in two different tables.

Updates on Requirements of Food and Beverage Outlets -2

Last updated on 28 May 2020

The Food Safety Department has updated the following:

Food and beverage outlets can function in their full capacity with social distancing measures in place.
Dine-in permits are not required for restaurants.
Stand alone food and beverage outlets and outlets in hotels can now allow entry of children from all age groups and also individuals older that 60 years.The restrictions for this age group still apply for the outlets inside malls.
Follow the opening and closing times provided as a part of the National Sterlization Program
Caterers that supply to floating restaurants and cruises can resume operations.

For further details, refer to the memo dated 26 May 2020. Latest circulars are posted here.

Updates on Requirements of Food and Beverage Outlets -1

Last updated on 26 May 2020

The Food Safety Department has updated the following:

Food and beverage outlets can function in their full capacity with social distancing measures in place.
Dine-in permits are not required for restaurants.
Age restrictions still apply for entry to food and beverage outlets. Children between the age of 3-12 and gusts older than 60 are in the restricted category.
Follow the opening and closing times provided as a part of the National Sterlization Program

For further details, refer to the memo dated 26 May 2020. Latest circulars are posted here.

Dine-in :Timing Restrictions for Restaurants

Last updated on 19 May 2020

The Food Safety Department has updated the timings allowed for restaurants for dine-in customers. From the 20th of May 2020, Dine-in must be completely closed at 7:00 PM. However, take-away and home delivery services can continue with necessary precautions in place.

Dine-in Permits Open for Restaurants

26 April 2020

Restaurants that have indoor dining area can now offer dine-in facilities to customers. Check the dine-in permits page for more details.

To find more about Dubai Municipality's food safety requirements,

New to Foodwatch?

If you are not familiar with Foodwatch or similar platforms, you are likely to face some difficulties while registering.

Remember these rules of thumb:

You need a good internet connection while registering to avoid any loss of data.
You can register yourself on the platform as a new user. Follow the instructions on the page.
Remember to keep the webpage active during data entry. Leaving it idle for more than a minute would log you out of the system. This is an inbuilt security rule.
Fields that are mandatory for registration of personnel are identified with * sign. However, there will be some time allowance for users to return and enter new data or correct the data that is provided. The data will be locked in April 2019 after which you will not be able to edit your profile without authorization.
Once personal registration is complete, you will receive a notification stating that you have been approved as an user. You can then register your organization (entity) and create your organization's profile.

Registration of Organizations (Entities)

Entities including food establishments, service providers and equipment and product suppliers must register on Foodwatch.

You can contact the FoodWatch team for registration and data entry. To reach the Foodwatch agent,

Mail to support@foodwatch.ae

Call +971 4 2230457

We will update you soon.

To reach a Foodwatch agent for registration, call +971 4 2230457, or,

mail to support@foodwatch.ae

To meet Foodwatch agent in person, visit Dubai Municipality Al Kifaf Centre (next to Al Jafliya Metro Station).

The centre is open from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm, Sunday to Thursday.

Location click here

SORAT

Info Sheet

About the Program

Sorat is an initiative from the Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality that aims to provide full nutritional information of foods to all consumers digitally.

In the first stage of the program, establishments will provide calorie information for at least five food items on their menu. This information can be easily accessed through the unique Foodwatch QR Code that will be displayed in these restaurants.

(click here to apply for the program)

How does it work?

Food service establishments will calculate the calories of foods based on the quantity of the ingredients and declare the information on the menu. Once the calculation is done, the establishment can apply for certification via Foodwatch platform.

(click here to see how)

Sorat program has four stages and the establishments have to progress from one stage to the other by completing the certification requirements for each stage. Foodwatch currently accepts requests for Stage 1 certification. However, food establishments can plan for the subsequent stages and keep the necessary information ready.

Establishments that are part of the program should make the following information available to consumers:

Stage 1 5 menu items with calorie information

Stage 2 50% of the menu with calorie and allergen information

Stage 3 100% of the menu with calorie and allergen information

Stage 4 100% of the menu with full nutrition and allergen information (specified by Dubai Municipality)

What are its benefits?

Food service establishments will get a rating and a certification that they can display to show their commitment to the community. Also, the establishment will be promoted on different platforms and will be recognized later by the Food Safety Department at Dubai Municipality.

How can you apply?

To request for support training, click on the link

SORAT SUPPORT WORKSHOP

Click here to register to a session:

Date	Time	Meeting Link

SORAT INITIATIVE: REQUIREMENTS FOR NUTRITION AND HEALTH CLAIMS

IN FOODSERVICE BUSINESSES

What is the requirement?

Food establishments that claim about nutrition or health on their menus, display boards, advertising materials, and promotional materials in either digital or print format must complete prior certification from the Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality. The certification process that can be obtained online free of cost involves three steps:

Step 1: Conducting the nutritional analysis of foods with claims using a recognized software program. The establishment that has already conducted an analysis need not redo the evaluation.

Each food item must be analyzed and the following details must be obtained:

Total Calories	Total Fat	Total Carbohydrates
Protein	Saturated Fat	Dietary Fibers
Sodium	Trans-fat	Total Sugars
	Cholesterol	Added Sugars

Step 2: List the food items on Foodwatch platform with information on ingredients and calories, and then request for Stage 4 Certification.

Step 3: Details of the ingredients, quantity, and information obtained from the software must be retained for inspection. This information must match with the food information on Foodwatch platform, and the values and methodology of calculation of nutrition will be verified by the Food Inspection Officer during routine inspections.

Which establishments need to be certified?

Any food establishment that is using the term “healthy” or related terms, claiming healthy menus, healthy meals, or claiming any nutrition or health claims on their menu items, including “organic” claims. The establishments include restaurants, café, coffee shops, cloud kitchens, and catering facilities.
Any food establishment offering “meal/diet plans.”
Any food establishment selling foods with supplements (e.g. protein shakes).

How can you get more information?

You can request further assistance by sending an email to Nutrition@dm.gov.ae.