The Ministry of Public Health organised a training workshop for a number of inspectors of the Agricultural Affairs Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment on the scientific methods of taking samples of Qatari fresh dates Rotab from local farms participating in the second Rotab Festival kick off today.
Dates Rotab samples were tested at the central food laboratories of the Ministry of Public Health to ensure that they were free from the residual impact of pesticides used during production and to ensure their safety.
A working group was set up by the Ministry of Health to organise the workshop, which included an integrated programme through a detailed theoretical explanation and practical training on the scientific methods of withdrawing Rotab samples according to the size and number of palms in each farm.
A sampling plan was set up on July 19 -26 from all the 57 farms participating in the festival. At least 70 samples withdrawn were subjected to analysis at the central food laboratories in order to ensure their conformity to the applicable standards in pesticide residues.
