Eateries in Qatar being graded RESTAURANTS and other food outlets in Qatar are to be graded as part of an initiative to introduce international standards. Ma’an al-Ani, food safety consultant at the General Department for Municipal Health Administration Affairs at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning, told Gulf Times the grading would be made on the basis of several factors. The most important would be hygiene and general cleanliness but subjects like training of staff and their appearance would also be taken into account. The eateries would be categorised as A, B, C and D with the ‘best’ outlet getting an A grade. The standards would be continuously monitored during regular visits by food inspectors and points marked in a report card. If a restaurant, for instance, had earned too many black points during a year, it would be downgraded in the annual revision. Similarly, an establishment could earn a higher status too, said Ma’an al-Ani, a PhD in bio-photonics from the US. It was not necessary for a five-star restaurant to automatically get the top grade, he explained. As part of the changes to be introduced, the official said, restaurants would be required to list the ingredients of a dish in their menu card as well as the calorie counts. This was to help those with health issues as well as a delicate tongue. “For instance, those who are not used to hot food should be warned if a dish is too spicy or not. Or, those who have ulcer or allergy to any item too could watch out.” The ‘food code’ being prepared for Qatar would be very comprehensive and the standard international, said the official. Once the food code was finalised, it would be applied throughout the country, al-Ani said. Currently, each municipality has its own rules. Al-Ani said the rules in Doha were more stringent than elsewhere. The food code will be enforced by the municipal ministry, not by a specific municipality, and hence would be uniform. Another change in the pipeline is the banning of plastic bags for packing local breads. If the bread is cooled and then packed, as in the case of sliced loafs, it would be fine but the smaller bakeries did not always do so, al-Ani said. It won’t be practical to enforce the “cool and then pack” rule and hence the blanket ban, he explained. Hot breads reacted with the plastic and produced chemical substances that could be carcinogenic, he said. Paper bags would be ideal for packing breads, he added. The department would also insist on all eateries to have trained and licensed food hygiene workers. There would be three companies who could train one of the staff members who in turn can train other members of the workforce. Five-star outlets could have staff who had advanced training. All outlets would be given time to comply with the rules since the department had no intention of unsettling their business, al-Ani said. Eventually, everyone would have to fall in line, he cautioned. GT

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar