The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the Qatar Chamber, and Qatar Tourism launched a training program for the certification and authorization of food handlers. On June 7th, World Food Safety Day, the program aims to upskill all food handlers and their supervisors at food facilities.

As a benefit of joining the program, food handlers will earn permits from the MoPH to practice their work.

After introducing the program two years ago, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of the Public Health Department, MoPH, said that the Ministry cooperates with Qatar Chamber and Qatar Tourism to implement the program, believing in the importance of educating food handlers and their supervisors. This program ensures food for the State of Qatar and enhances public health initiatives.

Wassan Abdullah Al Baker, Director of the Food Safety and Environmental Health Department at the MoPH, said that the implementation of the program was initiated through the pilot phase, which included a group of hotel hosting teams and official delegations during the 2021 Arab Cup and the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar as part of the efforts of the MoPH.

The second phase of the program will be launched in July 2024.

The Food Safety and Environmental Health Department at the Ministry of Public Health has also prepared the program's training materials and published them in Arabic and English on the MoPH website in 2022.