Shoppers urged to check frozen goods

AMMAN — The Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) on Tuesday urged consumers to work with authorities to ensure food safety, particularly during hot weather. 

Mohammad Khreisha, the head of the food control directorate at the JFDA, urged shoppers to check the thermometers fixed onto refrigerators and freezers in shops and supermarkets.

“The temperature of the refrigerator has to meet the cooling instructions on the products,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone,  adding that people should not buy products that are not well refrigerated.

Also, shoppers should buy frozen and refrigerated products last in order to minimise the time frozen goods are allowed to thaw, he advised, adding that purchases should be returned to refrigerators or freezers within an hour.   

“These products should be brought home and refrigerated as quickly as possible to avoid damage,” he noted.

Commenting on the administration’s efforts to maintain food safety, Khreisha said JFDA inspection teams intensify their efforts during summer, with particular emphasis on issues related to cooled and frozen items as well as the temperature of display fridges and preparation areas. 

“Heat is dangerous to the safety of foods in general, but refrigerated and frozen food items are more likely to go bad than others,” he said, citing a higher possibility of power cuts during summer.

The official said that local food security levels were “high”, adding that the number of violations caught was within the normal range for this time of year. 

Violations were found in fewer than 5 per cent of the JFDA’s inspections of food facilities over the last five years, he said. 

Meanwhile, he noted that Jordan imports up to 85 per cent of its food needs, and violations in imported food products do not exceed 0.05 per cent.

The official added that JFDA teams carry out a weekly average of 930 inspections, working in cooperation with teams from the Ministry of Health, municipalities and security forces across the Kingdom.

Samar Farajat, a resident of Amman, said it was her role as a mother to ensure the food safety of her two children.

“I always examine the expiry date and the general condition of all the products I buy,” she told The Jordan Times on Tuesday, adding that she preferred home cooked food during hot summer days.