RIYADH: The Saudi Food and Drug Authority has finalized its plan to ensure safe food, medicines and medical devices are provided for pilgrims during this year’s Hajj.
“This readiness aligns with the directives of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s wise leadership to prioritize the health and well-being of pilgrims, leveraging all available resources to ensure a safe and seamless Hajj journey,” the SFDA stated in a press release on Thursday.
“Key pillars include strengthening supply chain oversight, enhancing the readiness of field teams, intensifying inspection visits of regulated facilities, and bolstering coordination with relevant government entities,” the organization added.
The SFDA stated “that a fully integrated technical team will work around the clock across all regulatory pathways, starting from land, sea, and air entry points.
“This includes control over air freight belonging to Hajj missions and specialized inspection points at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah.”
Oversight extends to food and pharmaceutical establishments, as well as medical-device facilities under the SFDA’s supervision.
Over the past few months, the SFDA stated that it had conducted over 1,400 inspections of food and pharmaceutical factories and warehouses, as well as medical-device facilities to verify the integrity of supply chains.
Also, the SFDA has hosted several awareness workshops in collaboration with the municipalities of Makkah and Madinah, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Public Health Authority.
“These sessions targeted factory and catering workers, as well as government inspectors, to ensure strict compliance with health requirements and the provision of safe meals,” the SFDA stated.
“The SFDA’s participation in the Hajj season every year is part of a unified government ecosystem dedicated to providing the highest quality services to pilgrims, solidifying the Kingdom’s global leadership in crowd management and safety,” the organization added.
