Regulations confirm it is possible to use alcohol in food preparation, as long as certain guidelines are followed

Dubai Municipality have issued a new circular to restaurants in Dubai about the use of alcohol in food.

Last week, venues received an email from the Food Safety Department says the “use of alcohol in preparation and cooking of food meals is strictly prohibited”.

The email included a document from March 15 2010 titled ‘Forbiddance using alcohol as an ingredient in preparation of meals’, which at the time was sent to “all managers of hotels in emirate of Dubai”.

However, Dubai Municipality has now issued an updated set of regulations, confirming it is possible to use alcohol in food preparation, as long as certain guidelines are followed.

The rules in full are below:

• Obtain a permit from the relevant regulatory authorities to sell alcoholic beverages.
• Ensure safety and traceability of the alcohol used in foods based on the
  requirements of the Food Code and any other relevant regulatory requirements.
• Provide a designated and sufficient area for the preparation and storage of foods
  which are prepared with alcohol, completely separate from the other food areas.
• Provide separate and identifiable utensils for the preparation and storage of foods which are prepared using alcohol .
• A phrase indicating ‘contains alcohol’ or ‘prepared with alcohol’ shall be indicated on the food menu against any food that is prepared by using alcohol.
• When serving dishes which are prepared using alcohol or displaying them in the
  buffet, such dishes must be clearly identified as ‘contains alcohol’ or ‘prepared with alcohol’, by a sign (written in Arabic and English) which is can be easily spotted.
• Foods prepared by using alcohol shall be kept separate from the rest of other foods in the buffet.
• To prevent any unintended use, containers of alcohol used in cooking must be clearly identified by labels, and stored separately and marked as: “storage of alcohol used in preparing foods”.
• Maintain and adhere to documented Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Standard Sanitation Operating Procedure (SSOP) as a part of the food safety
  management system to avoid any cross contamination from Alcohol.