SHARJAH: The impact of genetically modified food products on human health and the risks of prolonged use of such food are a cause of concern for the Food Control Department of the Sharjah Municipality.
The municipality has embarked on a state-of-the-art training programme to identify such food products and its long-term impact on humans, Director of Human Resources Management, Salem Jarwan said.
The training programme, involving 27 employees of the department reviewed the economic reality and impact of halal food, genetically modified food, the readiness of Arab countries for the production of halal food.
The progamme discussed the risks and how to detect such unhealthy food products, the mechanism of production and how to stop such practices as these may have serious repercussions after prolonged consumption, he said.
The team was informed about the laws regulating genetically modified food and the access to the techniques and modern scientific programmes.
Jarwan said that the programme aims to familiarise health workers with the means and methods of production of genetically modified food items and introduce them to the food and agricultural products that have been prepared through genetic modifications.
He added that the training programme, which lasted for four days, saw significant interaction among participants.
He pointed out that the municipality plans to implement a number of training programmes this year in various sectors.
