Doha: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the UK Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera Science Limited) yesterday signed an agreement to promote scientific and technical cooperation on food safety and environmental health.
The agreement was signed by Public Health Department Director Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, on behalf of MoPH, and by Nicholas Boucher, Head of the Science and Innovation Network, British Embassy in Doha, on behalf of Fera Science Limited.
The agreement provides a framework for enhanced cooperation in food safety research, particularly food contaminant and risk management analyses, analyses of products of animal origin, specialised tests of unforeseen toxins, food fraud detection techniques, dissemination of scientific research and development results and professional consultancy services in food safety and environmental health.
Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani said: “The signing of the agreement with Fera Science Limited comes within the framework of the MoPH’s keenness to apply the best international standards and practices in the field of food safety, including laboratory services, risk analysis, control standards’ development, supervision and regulation. It also serves the implementation of the Qatar Public Health Strategy 2017-2022 and the National Health Strategy 2018-2022. The agreement will also support the response of Qatar’s MoPH to food safety and environmental health emergencies.”
Fera Science Limited CEO Dr. Andrew Swift commented: “We are pleased to sign this important agreement with the MoPH with the aim to develop and strengthen fruitful cooperation between the two sides, especially in the filed promoting the quality and safety of food and environmental health in general or during major sporting events and particularly the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, based on our previous experiences at the 2012 London Olympics.
Wassen Abdullah Al Bakr, Food Safety and Environmental Health Department Director at MoPH, explained that the agreement was a contribution to the enhancement of food safety in Qatar to serve the national strategy for food security, through a series of scientific events and activities carried out in cooperation with the UK Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera Science Limited).
“Based on the agreement, the MoPH will implement the ‘HorizonScan’ system, owned by the Fera Science Limited, and its relevant supply chain safety assessment services,” Wassen Abdullah Al Bakr added.
The UK Food and Environment Research Agency contributes to support training services, food safety laboratory competence assessment, screening of certain food samples for pathogens, as well as food quality and safety advisory services and risk analysis. It will also conduct joint laboratory experiments to enhance the accuracy of laboratory test results, develop and deploy new techniques to support inspection capabilities for imported food consignments, as well as share expertise on many food safety systems and strategies and laboratory analyses.
