A high-level GCC meeting on food safety held here yesterday discussed a range of related issues, including a proposal to ban or restrict the use of energy drinks in the member countries.

A GCC study on energy drinks was to be tabled at the second ministerial-level meeting of the GCC Food Safety Committee, the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) said yesterday.

In his inaugural speech, Minister of Health H E Abdullah bin Khalid Al Qahtani said the achievements of the GCC states in food safety included drafting of the unified food law and GCC guidelines for monitoring imported food.

“We are working on finalising a unified system to protect GCC markets from unsafe food. This system will be the first defence line to protect the health of GCC citizens. I firmly believe this committee will take some important steps in this regard,” said the minister.

He said the meeting will discuss several important issues to achieve this common goal, including executive regulations for the unified food law and adopting a unified policy for food safety.

The meeting will also discuss preparation of an early warning system for GCC countries on food safety, he added.

Dr Abdullah bin Juma Al Shibli, assistant secretary general for economic and development affairs at the GCC secretariat, said that the GCC states required comprehensive monitoring of food in all phases -- production, marketing and consumption.

The meeting discussed several topics, including the establishment of a special unit to assess food risk and implementation of unified guidelines for monitoring food imports at all ports of entry in the member states.

Image: blog.foodnetwork.com

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