In its quest for food safety excellence, Dubai has decided to keep restaurants that fail safety inspections a secret.

This is backwards.

AMEinfo.com reports that in May, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) said it will announce the names of restaurants and food outlets facing closure due to poor hygienic conditions.

However, the Dubai municipality believes taking corrective and preventive actions is more important than naming and shaming defiant eateries, director of the Food Control Department at the municipality, Khalid Mohammed Sherif Al Awadhi, said.

Variations of name and shame has proven a strong incentive in Toronto, Los Angeles, New York City and Sydney (New South Wales). Dubai isn’t there.