DUBAI // If you're planning on welcoming in 2011 with a barbecue, don't let food poisoning ruin the new year.
That's the message from Dubai Municipality's food control department, which is reminding would-be cooks of the necessary safety precautions.
"Outdoor grilling and barbecuing brings the risk of food poisoning," said Asia Abdulwahad, the acting head of the food studies and planning section. "It's not a good idea to carry cooked food like meat or rice and leave it at ambient temperature for long.
"Hot food should be kept at 60°C or above. If you do not have hot holding equipment don't keep the food for more than four hours between production and consumption."
Cooked meat should be kept separate from raw during transport and handling to avoid spreading germs, she said. People handling raw meat should wash their hands before and after touching it and use sanitisers if water availability is low. Separate utensils should be used for raw and cooked foods.
Ms Abdulwahad said low-risk foods included bread, biscuits and whole fruits in which germs would not grow as quickly.
Festivities for the Gregorian New Year fall in the middle of the barbecue season, which runs from September to April, according to Calvin Platfoot, who owns the barbecue supply company, Gulf Leisure.
"When barbecuing ensure the gas hose from the cylinder is not damaged and the burners should be clean," he said. "If the product has been left for a long time there is a chance of insects getting in there. Staying safe is really about common sense."
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Banned items
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Drones
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Animals
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Fireworks/ flares
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Radios or power banks
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Laser pointers
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Glass
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Selfie sticks/ umbrellas
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Sharp objects
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
The specs
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Company profile
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”