Dubai Municipality issue clarification over tap water

Dubai Municipality have clarified an earlier report that said restaurants and hotels would have to offer free tap water from 2020 as part of the new Dubai Food Code, released on Monday.

An official was quoted at the Dubai International Food Safety Conference as saying tap water would be advised as part of the code in order to reduce the dependence on single use plastic.

However, Iman Al Bastaki, Director of the Food Safety Department at Dubai Municipality issued the following clarification on Wednesday.

“The Food Code says nothing about making tap water mandatory in hotels and restaurants. Tap water can be consumed as drinking water if the following steps are taken: Water tanks and pipes system should be well maintained, cleaning and flushing should be done by a company approved by the Emirates International Accreditation Centre, and samples should be collected and tested for drinking water parameters in a laboratory approved by the Emirates International Accreditation Centre and should be found satisfactory.”

A further note said, “Water tank cleaning requirements have been there since 14 years and there is nothing new. The Food Code says that if the hotel/restaurant is providing filtered tap water, it must be safe. This is not a new requirement either. The code says that the water must be potable whether it is for bottles or ice. Don’t forget that ice is produced in machines that run on tap water.” （Source: Gulf News）