Minister launches electronic food safety system 'Watheq'

The Minister of Public Health HE Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Monday inaugurated the electronic food safety system 'Watheq'. The system is one of the most important national projects within the Qatar Public Health Strategy, under the strategic objective “Develop an integrated risk-based inspection service certified to relevant international standards such as ISO/IEC 17020:2012 for imported, locally produced, and exported food products that are supported by modern electronic management systems, effective diagnostic services, and monitoring and surveillance systems”, said the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in a press statement Monday. Watheq is a food control process, based on standard operating procedures subject to international accreditation controls (ISO 17020), through three electronically linked systems which are: the system of control of imported and exported food, the system of control of food in the local market, and the electronic management of food analysis laboratories. HE Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari affirmed that MoPH adopts the most effective and integrated electronic systems, aiming the provision high-quality services to enhance the health and well-being of the community. She explained that the electronic food safety system enhances the efficiency of the Food Safety Department in controlling food across the entire food chain, as the system ensures the accuracy and rapidness of food control and food tracking in the markets, saves the time to get laboratory results and decreases food-related risks. All this enables the effective implementation of food safety requirements and Qatari regulations. HE Al Kuwari added The electronic system will also contribute to the development of a central database covering accurate information on each food item in Qatar, which will help in decision-making related to food security, strategic food reserve, and scientific research. Moreover, Watheq has been linked with the customs clearance system (Al-Nadib) to constitute an integrated platform that contains complete data on food and importers, to ensure efficient inspection of imported and exported food products at all ports in the State of Qatar. For her part, Wassan Abdullah Al Baker, Director of the Food Safety Department at (MoPH), said, "We are happy that before the launch of the electronic system, our local and border inspection services have been accredited by the US Accreditation Bureau (ANAB) according to the international standard: ISO 17020. Also, the Central Food Laboratories obtained the renewal of international recognition, which enhances the trust and credibility of our inspection outputs. Furthermore, the electronic food safety system will make our inspection science-based and electronic that offers all electronic services to all concerned”. The electronic system enables all stakeholders such as importers and suppliers to track food consignments and get all needed information related to the product, inspections, and circulars. Watheq also supports control bodies as it provides electronic linkage and the rapid exchange of reports, information, results, and all details related to importers, exporters, and food establishments, tracks consignments, and identifies the risk levels for foods. Since the soft launch of the electronic system, 3330 food establishments, 546551 food products have been registered, 9908 electronic services have been provided, and 138787 imported food shipments have been inspected. A food safety mobile application will also be launched later with various specifications and services, MoPH said.