DUBAI - Restaurant owners could face jail in Abu Dhabi if their kitchens fail health and safety checks under a new law being proposed by the emirate’s food standards regulator, UAE daily the National reported on Monday.The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) is looking to toughen up punishments in a bid to clamp down on unhygienic restaurants and other food outlets following a number of high-profile food poisoning cases across the UAE, the newspaper reported.
The authority has already stepped up its campaign to clean up the emirate’s eateries, shutting down close to 70 food establishments for health and safety violations so far this year, according to the paper.
“These regulations will be in place so that it’s obligatory for every food establishment to follow them,” ADFCA spokesman Mohammed al-Reyaysa was quoted as saying.
Two young children died of food poisoning in June after eating a take-away meal from a restaurant in Dubai.
The deaths came a month after a 4-year-old girl died of food poisoning after eating at a restaurant in Sharjah the previous day.