Dubai Municipality’s eighth edition of the ‘Hatta Honey Festival’ attracts many visitors, one of the most prominent annual events aimed at supporting the beekeeping industry in Dubai and the UAE. The festival, running until December 31, featuring around 60 Emirati beekeepers who is showcasing their wide array of products to attendees and tourists. Being held this time around as part of the inaugural Hatta Festival, the event offered visitors an opportunity to learn more about diverse varieties of honey, their unique qualities, and ways to distinguish them.
Organized annually by the municipality, the festival aims to support the beekeeping industry across the UAE and Emirati beekeepers besides enhancing the quality, health, and safety standards across the sector. It enable beekeepers from across Dubai to share their experiences and suggest the most effective ways to improve the quality of their products. The event also offers greater investment and economic opportunities for Hatta residents, in addition to supporting local owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Dawoud Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality, highlighted the municipality’s sustained efforts to raise the attractiveness and capabilities of the Hatta region, enhance public amenities and services, and to develop its recreational and tourist facilities and sites, thereby reinforcing its position as a preferred tourist destination in Dubai. Such initiatives align with the Hatta Comprehensive Development Plan initiated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to drive development in the region, implement various economic and development projects and initiatives, and unlock investment opportunities for the private sector in the region.
Al Hajri said: “Hatta Honey Festival offers a platform for visitors to discover diverse honey varieties produced in the Hatta region while bolstering entrepreneurship by enabling citizens to showcase and market local products. The event plays a key role in our efforts to create economic and tourism opportunities for the region’s residents and supports citizens who are into beekeeping, adhering to the vision and strategy of the emirate to ensure inclusive development and elevate the quality of life and prosperity of the population.”
The festival open to the public at Dubai Municipality’s Hatta Hall, with the timings being from 10 am until 10 pm. Visitors are able to participate in a range of activities including a workshop on recipes of the most well-known foods and drinks made using honey. Honey soap-making and honey candle-making sessions will also be part of the lineup as will be an art workshop for children to help them draw on fabrics, besides sessions showcasing honey packaging.
Dubai municipality extend a number of facilities and services to support beekeepers in the Hatta region with the Dubai Central Laboratory services offering instant laboratory testing of honey samples for both exhibitors and visitors to confirm quality and adherence with approved standards. In addition, the laboratory provided sample inspections of honey products displayed, such as examining the ratio of total sugars, glucose, sucrose, fructose and Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF).
In addition, the festival featured the Dubai Smart Mobile Laboratory to detect yeast and other fungi found in honey products and check ready-to-eat meals offered at food establishments participating in the festival to guarantee their quality and safety. The move comes in line with the municipality’s goal of supporting a sustainable environmental and food ecosystem as well as safeguarding public health and safety.
