MUSCAT – The GCC Food Safety Committee is building the Gulf Rapid Alert System for Food (GRASF) through which all the member states will be able to take action in case of a crisis, like food borne diseases, and also work simultaneously toward banning or withdrawing products which fail to match food standards. The GRASF is to be modelled on an existing system used in Saudi Arabia. The web-based system will also help countries to alert each other if a product rejected in one is re-exported to another. Disease outbreaks and food contamination reports from across the world will also be closely monitored and reported to the GCC countries through this system, which will be based out of Riyadh. GRASF will be officially launched by the end of this year, when all the member countries will be connected to it. Oman is already connected to the GRASF, said Haitham Khalfan Alakhzami, director of food monitoring at the Ministry of Regional Municipalities & Water Resources, who recently represented the sultanate in the GCC Food safety Committee meeting held in Manama, Bahrain. "Currently, the ministry is the focal point for GRASF in Oman, but we are planning to establish a number of other focal points, including Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and border security," he told Muscat Daily. He added that procedure for creating the system is already underway. "We have sent letters to these agencies and expect the work to be complete in two-three months." Additionally, the region has been looking to frame a common food safety law. In the absence of a regional food safety agency, effectively enforcing the laws has been a challenge for the region. Alakhzami said that unified monitoring guidelines for imported foodstuff in the GCC will soon be laid out. – SG/Agencies