As the recent spate of food-borne illnesses has been classified a national disaster, the government has intensified inspections of businesses selling food and other enterprises in the food value chain while tests of contaminated products will be fast-tracked.
Cabinet ministers yesterday discussed the issue of food-borne illnesses, which has resulted in 22 deaths in the past few weeks, after President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a 21-day deadline on Friday for spaza shops and small businesses to be registered.
In at least one of the incidents, the deaths of six children in Naledi, Soweto has been linked to a pesticide.
Food-borne illnesses were classified as a disaster on November 19, however, it has not yet been declared a disaster as deliberations were still ongoing, Co-operative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa explained.
Health experts are to be appointed to serve in the Ministerial Advisory Committee which will be tasked with developing medium-to-long-term prevention measures to curb the incidents of food-borne illnesses.
In addition, a directive has been issued for government to be notified of the deaths of patients 12 years and below as this will show “the burden of disease and the population at risk in real time”.
Speaking on the issue of inspecting businesses, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Thembi Simelane said in KwaZulu-Natal, law enforcement found three warehouses that contained counterfeit food, clothing, pesticides, and large amounts of expired food, with an estimated value of R800 million. It is understood that the items had been imported into the country.
Police said food items such as canned fish, fizzy drinks, soya beans, and baby food – along with spices mostly used on chips – were found stored with hazardous chemicals such as pesticides, among other items. Police said the origin of the items was being investigated.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda on Thursday said the items found were now part of the investigation as exhibits.
“At the right time, they will be disposed of in accordance with the law.”
Simelane stated that lawful joint inspections are ongoing across the country, led by multi-disciplinary teams including experts and officials from various government departments, state bodies, and law-enforcement agencies.
An amount of R15m has been allocated towards rapid testing of suspected contaminated food products.
She said the inspections include the food value chain right from manufacturing, wholesale and transport, and the retail sector to monitor and enforce norms and standards for food safety.
The inspections will be complemented by nationwide clean-up campaigns, which have already started in Gauteng and will be rolled out to other hotspot areas and the entire country, she said.
Regarding concerns about waste management and rat infestations, Simelane said: “To succeed in this effort to rid our environment of rat infestations and other waste management challenges, we need a sustained partnership between government and society. It is in our hands to make our communities cleaner, healthier, and safer liveable environments.”
According to Simelane, the Department of Agriculture will conduct inspections at all five registered manufacturers of pesticide Terbufos in the next few days to ascertain controls and to determine if markers are put into locally produced products to distinguish between illegally imported and locally produced chemicals.
The department will also strengthen its biosecurity efforts to support the control of the entry of products, organisms, and other harmful biological products at the ports of entry.
“We have established partnerships with the private sector on waste management, and this will involve covering the transportation costs of dangerous goods and contaminated foodstuffs,” said Simelane.
The minister warned that unscrupulous shop owners, in an attempt to avoid inspections, were now dumping contaminated foodstuffs in unauthorised landfill sites and open spaces.
“Some of these contaminated foodstuffs are repackaged and sold back to communities. We urge communities not to consume these unsafe products as they compromise their health. Our law-enforcement agencies will act decisively against those shop owners who illegally dumped unsafe foodstuffs,” said Simelane.
Speaking on the disaster declaration, Hlabisa said food-borne illnesses had been classified as a national disaster with the next step being a declaration.
“The classification helps to activate all structures and departments to start taking action in relation to the challenge at hand. So it is sufficient as a base, but if you want to escalate the response, you go to a declaration of a disaster.”
“In terms of our programme as Cogta, we are working towards the declaration of a disaster, but we are being guided by the developments and all steps that must be met before you declare a national disaster,” he said.
Last week, the president said that since the start of September 2024, a total of 890 cases of food-borne illnesses have been reported throughout all provinces.
In response to a recent Parliamentary question about the number of food poisoning cases since last year, Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi stated that between January 1, 2023, and October 31, 2024, a total of 3 001 suspected cases of food-borne illnesses have been reported.
“A total of 44 suspected deaths have been reported from food-borne illnesses, with two deaths confirmed as food poisoning,” he said.