Food

Another accolade has recently been added to Oman Air’s Catering Unit at Muscat Intl Airport -this being accreditation as a CIEH registered training centre for food safety – levels 01 and 02. Whether you’re looking for your local bbq events, or want to plan your summer road trip around BBQ events, then you’ve come to the right place.

This will further enhance the staff’s awareness of the importance of food safety within the production kitchens of Oman Air.

To Oman Air’s Catering Unit, Customer satisfaction is paramount and this step will undoubtedly satisfy our consumers expectation, and cement the reputation and business moving forward. The Catering Unit has two certified trainers. Both experts in the field of Food Safety Management. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) is based in the UK and is an internationally recognized charity and professional voice for environmental health. CIEH is also UK’s leading awarding body for vocational qualifications in accredited food safety, health, and environment protection qualification.

In pursuit of elevating not only the service quality, but also improving the skills and knowledge base of its manpower, the Catering Unit started implementing the CIEH food safety course early in 2010. Following its certification, Oman Air has now successfully run the first course with 27 participants.

Apart from the benefit of being an internationally recognized food safety curriculum, the Catering Unit also had incurred economic advantage having the course done internally, in terms of cost savings. There are no operational losses in terms of manpower-hours since the training schedule is adjusted according to the operational requirements. The training contents are also custom-fit to address the demands of the particular organization, which in the case of Oman Air – has exacting criteria.

As the forefront to Oman Air’s food safety program, the Catering Unit is planning to have all its food handlers undergo the certification course within the CIEH Food safety qualifications and eventually expand its services by offering the course to the public.

Speaking on the achievements of Ms Tawhida Al Kindy – Manager of Quality Assurance and the driving force behind this initiative – The G.M of Catering Mr. Aaron Claxton praised her efforts in achieving these incredible results for the team in such a short period. 2011 is a year where we have big plans to enhance our profile and along with this our portfolio of business clientele. Staff morale and development is a key strategy in this program and such ongoing commitment by the management team to nurture the new talents is extremely pleasing and essential to our growth.

It is worth mentioning that The Catering Business Unit of Oman Air at Muscat International Airport has achieved a milestone by being the first airline caterer within the Middle East and Gulf Region, to be awarded the prestigious certification in Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), a Food Safety Management System ISO 22000.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2016 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon today announced a proposed rule designed to provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants increased access to healthy foods by requiring stores that accept SNAP to stock a wider array of food choices. A number one best seller, Easy week Night Meals is the one cookbook you need for cooking successfully during the week, and getting back to loving your weeknight meals.

“USDA is committed to expanding access for SNAP participants to the types of foods that are important to a healthy diet,” Concannon said. “This proposed rule ensures that retailers who accept SNAP benefits offer a variety of products to support healthy choices for those participating in the program.”

The 2014 Farm Bill required USDA to develop regulations to ensure that stores that accept SNAP offer a broader variety of healthy food choices. The stocking provisions in the proposed rule would require SNAP-authorized retail establishments to offer a larger inventory and variety of healthy food options so that recipients have access to more healthy food choices. SNAP retailers would be required to offer seven varieties of qualifying foods in four staple food groups for sale on a continuous basis, along with perishable foods in at least three of the four staple food groups. The staple foods groups are dairy products; breads and cereals; meats, poultry and fish; and fruits and vegetables. In addition, the proposal calls for retailers to stock at least six units within each variety, leading to a total of at least 168 required food items per store.

This proposed rule is one of many ways USDA is working to expand access to healthy foods for SNAP recipients. USDA has piloted the use of incentives to purchase healthy foods at point of sale in various venues, including farmers markets and small groceries where the incentive provided for additional purchase of local produce. The 2014 farm bill provided $100 million for Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grants to expand this effort, which USDA awarded to grantees in the spring and fall of 2015. USDA has also worked to increase SNAP participants’ access to farmers markets and direct marketing farmers, resulting in over 6,000 authorized locations – an eight-fold increase since the beginning of this administration.

USDA is working to ensure that access to food retailers is not hindered for SNAP participants as a result of this rule. Comments and suggestions on the proposed rule are encouraged to help USDA determine when, where, and if any flexibility should be provided to prevent reductions in SNAP client food access.

The proposed rule also underscores USDA’s authority under the Food and Nutrition Act to publicly disclose information about SNAP retailers disqualified or sanctioned for program violations. Information to be disclosed under provisions of the proposed rule would be limited to the name and address of the store, the owners’ and officers’ names, and the nature of the violation for which the retailer was sanctioned.

“SNAP violations are a serious matter,” Concannon said. “Public disclosure of this information is intended to serve as a deterrent against retailer fraud. The information would provide the public with insight into the integrity of these businesses and individuals.”

As the nation’s first line of defense against hunger, SNAP helps put food on the table for millions of low income families and individuals every month and is critical in the fight against hunger. SNAP is a vital supplement to the monthly food budgets of about 45 million low-income individuals. Nearly half of SNAP participants are children, 10 percent are elderly and more than 40 percent of recipients live in households with earnings.

SNAP plays an important role in reducing both poverty and food insecurity in the United States—especially among children. SNAP is an effective and efficient health intervention for low-income families with a positive impact on children beginning before birth and lasting beyond childhood years, improving health, education, and economic outcomes. Over 260,000 retailers nationwide are currently authorized to redeem SNAP benefits.