Food SafetyKuwait Country Report
BYMaha ALMaha AL--BatelBatel
Director, Central Veterinary Laboratories,Director, Central Veterinary Laboratories,
The Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and The Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and
Fish Resources (PAAFR), KuwaitFish Resources (PAAFR), Kuwait
• Food is a potential vehicle for exposing consumers to different agents capable of causing disease. At all stages of production, transport, storage, distribution and preparation for consumption, food can be contaminated with biological, chemical agents.
• The Veterinary Services were set up to control livestock diseases at the farm level especially, the major epizootic diseases and of diseases that could affect man (zoonotic diseases).
• Veterinary Services may also provide livestock producers with information, advice and training on how to avoid, eliminate or control food safety hazards (e.g. drug and mycotoxins residues ) in primary production, including through animal feed.
• In many countries the role of the Veterinary Services has been extended to include subsequent stages of the food chain in the “farm to fork” continuum
Current Operating System For Food Safety in Kuwait
Food safety System in Kuwait is a multi-agency, itcontributes the following .
• The Kuwait Municipality (KM)• The Ministry of Health (MOH)• The Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and
Fisheries Resources (PAAFR) • The Public Authority for Industry (PAI)• The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) • office of Consumer Protection
Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs andFisheries Resources (PAAFR)
. PAAFR is responsible for monitoring livestock at the farm level not extended to the slaughter house • Kuwait Municipality (KM) is the primary authority for food
control.• The Department of Imported Foods and the Department
of Sanitary Municipal Services Control of KM, as well as the Food Control Laboratory (FCL) at MOH are considered to be the agencies most responsible for food control.
In order to assure food safety ,it is necessary to take into consideration every aspect in the food chain , and consider it as a continuum from primary production to the selling as every element may potentially influence food safety “from the farm to the table”
Competencies of Veterinary services in terms of food safety
• Control of farm’s management
• Control on chemical and drugs residues in animals•Control on raw milk
•Control on animal feed•Control of Zoonotic Diseases
• Animal welfare
Difficult to compete with Veterinary services in terms of food safety
• systematic Surveillance Systems• Lower respect of food safety rules• Staff and population mentalities/behaviors• communication with food safety authorities
.communication with stockholder
Main roles of Veterinary services in the area of food safety is carried out through:
• Monitoring and surveillance for food borne diseases ( Salmonellosis, Campylobacterosis, Tuberculosis and Brucellosis ,etc) at the level of farm production.
• The Central veterinary Laboratory for Feed is officially responsible for controlling all animal and poultry feed and feed ingredients.
• Evaluation of raw milk as well as animal by products (hide, hair, wool and their products )according to techniques and limits of local and international hygienic standards
• Achieving Salmonella performance standards in meat poultry flock.
PAAF is a member of several food committies in Kuwait which includes
• The Food Safety Committee, which includes representatives of all the above agencies, may recommend a temporary ban on imports of food products from certain countries when a food health hazard is identified.
• Premininant food committee• Zoonotic disease committee• Avian influenza committee• The State of Kuwait is a member of GSO under the umbrella of
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.)
Issues of food safety in PAAFR, Kuwait
• Chemical contamination:
drug and mycotoxins residues
• Biological contaminationSalmonella in poultry and feed
• Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria of animal origin• Food borne zoonotic diseases (Salmonellosis, Campylobacterosis Tuberculosis and Brucellosis )
Percentage of salmonella serotypes isolates.
S.newport; 46.8
S. munchen; 27.4
S.blockely; 3.1
S.enteritidis; 6.3
S. anatum; 1.4
S.paratyphi B; 5.3
S. typhimurium; 9.7S. typhimurium
S.paratyphi B
S.newport
S. munchen
S.blockely
S.enteritidis
S. anatum
Antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella
serotypes isolates.
% of residues in raw milk in kuwait dairy farms duing 2009
Antibiotic residues; 5.1
Aflatoxin residues; 6.7
To improve the situation of Veterinary Services in terms of Food Safety
• Application of international standards (ISO, OIE, Codex)• Promotes animal health and welfare• Implement HACCP systems• Ensures proper drug and antibiotic use• Technical support by international organizations • Urgent public health education on food safety • Promotes communication with food safety authorities • Education and training of Vet. staff in terms of food safety• Creation of a new food safety authority to eliminate overlaps and to establish a centralized system for food safety.
