UAE Ministry of Environment and Water conducts field trip to UAE Border Crossings to enhance food safety

United Arab Emirates, August 25, 2015 – H.E. Abdel Rahim Mohammed Al Hammadi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Environment & Water, made a field visit to the Mazyad and Khatam Al Shukla border posts to inspect the actions and procedures carried out at the Border Crossings upon entry of animal and agricultural consignments to the country. The move is in line with the Ministry’s keenness to provide safe live animals to meet the local market’s livestock needs for the season of sacrificial animals. The visit aims to achieve the Ministry’s strategic objectives to promote food safety and sustainability of domestic production and at the same time prevent agricultural pests and infectious animal diseases.

The Undersecretary confirmed that the Ministry is keen to overcome obstacles to importing live animals and different animal products in order to contribute towards achieving food security to meet domestic demand. He pointed out that the Mazyad and Khatam Al Shukla areas are two of the UAE’s major border posts where the Ministry is continuously working to ensure the smooth flow of imports and exports of animal and agricultural consignments. In addition, it is also aiming to simplify procedures to contribute to the diversification of live animal import sources especially in high-demand seasons.

H.E. Al Hammadi added that the Ministry has provided all the human and material resources to raise the efficiency of work in the quarries and has promptly serviced customers. It has designated qualified veterinarians and agricultural engineers at the border along with supporting technical systems such as Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) to establish electronic connections between border posts and central laboratories to speed up the process of obtaining laboratory test results and shorten the time of service provision. In addition, the Ministry has facilitated more flexible delivery of services to meet the expected increase in the number of animals during the festive season of Eid al-Adha.

Explaining further, H.E. Al Hammadi said that the Ministry is working to monitor and follow up on the global health and veterinary situation via the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). It is also following up on developments in the spread or emergence of any hotbeds of sick animals in the world to impose or lift bans on the import of animals accordingly. It only allows imports from countries free of epidemic and infectious diseases and those that strictly comply with international standards for animal health and veterinary quarantine measures.

The UAE Ministry of Environment and Water scrutinizes the documents, previews the consignment, and makes a visual inspection upon arrival of live animals through the border post to make sure they are free of any symptoms. In addition, it takes blood samples from the animals to be tested in the Ministry’s laboratories. The Ministry controls the animal consignments through its 29 quarries in the various border posts of the UAE which are supported by qualified technical staff and advanced veterinary laboratories to ensure the availability and trade of healthy animal and agricultural products in the local markets at all times.