The Abu Dhabi Authority for Agriculture and Food Safety has renewed its warning of the danger of coordinating food rumors that circulate through social media sites and applications and unreliable websites, because of the great risks it poses to the safety of society and the national economy, and called on the general public to avoid circulating rumors and communicate with the authority immediately to make sure The health and safety of any nutritional information that is circulated among members of society to avoid the widening circle of rumors and reduce its negative effects on society.
The authority pointed out that the rumors of various forms carry false information that is not based on valid scientific foundations, explaining that there are three reasons behind the spread of these rumors, the first aims to harm some food products and brands for competitive reasons, and the second comes as a result of the misinterpretation of nutritional information and misunderstanding It has circulation among people without knowing its origin, while the third reason is the retransmission of old news and information and the indication that it is modern and contemporary to distract the public.
She explained that the food rumors involve great risks, such as changing the nutritional behavior of the consumer as a result of his misunderstanding and building his food decisions on false information and not based on scientific and factual grounds, which negatively affects his safety and the safety of the food handled, and on the other hand the rumors are considered one of the means of commercial competition and unfair practices Which some merchants resort to, as it relies on spreading falsehoods and false information about competing products, which contributes greatly to causing severe damage to manufacturing and supply facilities and the consequent harm to the national economy.
The authority confirmed that it implements several programs aimed at raising the level of consumer awareness of issues related to food and agricultural products, both plant and animal, and is keen, through these programs, to clarify the truth about rumors and respond to them depending on the method of risk analysis and relying on the scientific basis always, where the published information is studied and analyzed This includes tracking the published information and its source.
The authority stated that it continues its awareness-raising activities throughout the year during which it focuses on raising awareness of the importance of not circulating rumors and the need to address them with a view to enhancing community awareness of their risks, calling for communication at any time with the authority to ensure the validity of the food or agricultural information being circulated.
The Authority works to monitor food and agricultural rumors in order to respond to them proactively to ensure limiting their spread and reduce the damage caused by them, and also works to provide various communication channels that allow the public to inquire about information related to food safety, as the Authority provides interactive, official accounts on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook And Instagram, through which it receives hundreds of inquiries annually, including inquiries related to food rumors.
The authority called for the lack of coordination or the circulation of any anonymous information about food safety, and refer to it to verify the matter, through direct communication with the Abu Dhabi Government call center on the toll-free number (800555), where the inspection teams of the authority undertake to follow up on any notification received from the consumer, During a record period, the consumer is drawn up with the nature of the action being taken regarding the filed.