Chefs, food handlers and food safety professionals from at least 50 nationalities will gather at Dubai World Trade Centre on 17 November for Grill Safe. The event is a large-scale training session on preparing rotisserie grilled chicken safely, and it will attempt two Guinness World Records titles. 

Organized by Dubai Municipality's Food Safety Department, Grill Safe is aiming for the records for the largest food safety training and the most nationalities taking part in a food safety training. The session forms part of the 20th Dubai International Food Safety Conference, which opens on 16 November. 

Why Rotisserie Chicken? 

Rotisserie grilled chicken is one of the UAE's most popular quick meals. Because it is cooked in full view of customers, it often seems a safe choice, but specialists say the risks lie in what happens around the grill. 

"Raw chicken can carry bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, which cause food poisoning," said Michael Rivera, Senior Food Safety Officer at Dubai Municipality. "Cooking destroys them. The danger comes when cooked chicken comes back into contact with raw chicken, or with anything raw chicken has touched." 

The problem with grill 'gravy'

One practice of particular concern is serving the liquid that collects in a tray beneath the rotisserie as gravy. Rivera stressed that these drippings should never reach a customer's plate. 

"That liquid has run off chicken that was still raw or only partly cooked, and it has never been heated to a safe temperature," he said. "It should be discarded every time. If an outlet wants to offer a sauce, it should be made separately in the kitchen without any raw drippings, kept covered, and stored away from the machine." 

How Cross-Contamination Happens at the Grill 

The way chicken is loaded onto the rotisserie also matters. When raw chicken is placed on the upper rods while cooked chicken turns below, raw juices can drip directly onto food that is ready to serve. The same risk arises when a customer orders half a chicken and the remaining half is left at the bottom of the machine beneath fresh batches. 

"Most of these problems come from habits nobody has questioned," Rivera said. "Grill Safe shows people exactly where the risks are and how to remove them." 

In line with the Dubai Food Code, the training will reinforce these key practices: 

• Cook chicken to a core temperature of at least 75°C, checked at the thickest part with a probe thermometer.
• Hold cooked chicken at 60°C or above until it is served.
• Use separate knives, tongs and cutting boards for raw and cooked chicken.
• Clean and sanitize drip trays, spits and nearby surfaces regularly throughout the day.
• Wash hands after handling raw chicken and before touching cooked food.
• Never reuse or serve marinade that has touched raw chicken unless it has been thoroughly boiled.

Sauces Need Care Too 

Garlic sauce is a popular accompaniment to grilled chicken and is often served in place of gravy. Rivera cautioned that it is not automatically risk-free. "Garlic and mayonnaise-based sauces can be high-risk if they are made or stored poorly," he said. "They should be prepared fresh, refrigerated, and used within the time limits the outlet has set. A safe chicken served with an unsafe sauce is still an unsafe meal." 

Protecting Customers Starts Behind the Counter 

Every one of these practices happens out of the customer's sight, which is why Rivera says responsibility sits with the people preparing the food. "Customers trust that the chicken they buy is safe," he said. "Food handlers are the ones who keep that promise, every batch, every shift." 

A Global Classroom 

Grill Safe is aimed mainly at chefs and persons in charge at outlets selling grilled chicken, along with food handlers, managers and food safety professionals. It will be delivered in five languages to reach the city's diverse food workforce. 

"Dubai's food sector is built by people from every corner of the world, so it makes sense that our food safety training reflects that," Rivera said. "When the people behind the counter understand why these rules exist, they follow them, and the whole community benefits." Event details 

• Date: 17 November 2026
• Time: 9:00 to 11:00 am
• Venue: Dubai World Trade Centre
• Languages: Arabic, English, Malayalam, Urdu and Tagalog
• Contact: +971 54 147 8870 | info@foodsafetydubai.com

Chefs, persons in charge and food handlers are invited to register and be part of the record attempt at https://foodsafetypledge.com/grill-safe/