The Minister of Health Inaugurates “Watheq” System for Food Safety

On Monday, September 26, the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, inaugurated the electronic food safety system "Watheq".

This electronic system is considered one of the important national projects within the Qatar Public Health Strategy, which is part of a package of projects aimed at raising the level of food safety in accordance with the highest international standards and best-applied practices in this field.

The electronic system represents a tight system for the food control process, based on standard work methods subject to the international accreditation controls "ISO 17020", through three electronically linked systems, which are the control system for imported and exported food, the food control system in the local market, and electronic management for food analysis laboratories.

Her Excellency Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al-Kuwari affirmed the keenness of the Ministry of Public Health to adopt the best, most effective, and integrated electronic systems, in a way that contributes to providing high-quality services to enhance the health and well-being of society.

Her Excellency explained that the electronic food safety system enhances the efficiency of the Food Safety Department in tracking food across the entire food chain, especially through the accuracy and speed of control and inspection of food products and their tracking in the markets, reducing the time for issuing laboratory results, and reducing food-related risks, which contributes to Ensure the quality and effective application of the health requirements required with regard to food safety in accordance with the requirements and regulations in force in the State of Qatar.

Her Excellency added that the system contributes to creating a central database that contains accurate information on every food item traded in Qatar and helps improve decision-making in the areas of food security, strategic stock, and scientific research.

The electronic food safety system “Watheq” has also been linked with the customs clearance system “Al Nadeeb”, to represent an integrated platform that includes complete data about food and importers to ensure speedy and efficient inspection of imported and exported food products in all ports of the State of Qatar.

The electronic system serves all those concerned with food safety, such as importers and suppliers, as the electronic system enables them to track food consignments, and obtain full product details, inspections, and food safety circulars. The electronic system also serves the regulatory authorities through electronic connectivity and the rapid exchange of reports, information, and results, access to full details of importers, exporters, and food establishments, tracking import and export operations, and determining levels of risk for each food item, in addition to many important services for food establishments and consumers.

Since the launch of the electronic system experimentally, 3,330 food establishments and 546,551 food products have been registered, 9,908 electronic services have been provided, and 138,787 food shipments imported through the system have been inspected.

It is worth noting that at a future stage, the food safety application will be launched via mobile phones with various specifications and services, to be accessible to everyone.