The new services include food consignment inspection for export and re-export, as well as requests for food export and re-export certificates, and certificate verification
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in Qatar has announced the addition of 5 new electronic services to its electronic food safety system, called ‘Watheq’. This brings the total number of services available in the system to 19. The new services include food consignment inspection for export and re-export, as well as requests for food export and re-export certificates, and certificate verification. These new services aim to simplify and speed up the process of inspecting food consignments at ports, as well as verifying health certificates for exported or re-exported food.
Wassan Abdullah Al Baker, Director of the Food Safety Department at MoPH, has said that the new e-services are part of the Ministry’s efforts to automate and develop the electronic food safety system, making it easier for importers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities to access the system.
Since the launch of the system in September 2022, 6,253 food establishments have been registered, and 57,288 food products have been approved. There have been 55,782 electronic transactions in the system. In terms of inspection statistics, the number of shipments inspected since the launch of the system has reached an undisclosed number, and 5,926 local food establishments have been inspected. Additionally, 19,251 samples have been withdrawn at ports and 37,851 samples have been examined in food laboratories during local inspections.
