Pretoria - The City of Tshwane, police and health officials this week conducted an inspection of informal shops as the province and country react to the increasing number of deaths, illness, hospitalisation and evidence that spaza shops in townships are supplying communities with unsafe consumable products.
On a visit to areas in the north of the metro on Tuesday, officials checked for legality among the spaza shop operators and compliance with by-laws during the joint operation comprising the SAPS and City staff in Temba, Hammanskraal and Soshanguve.
Saying spaza shops were known to serve as popular food and grocery outlets in communities, and play a crucial role in providing convenient and affordable food options to residents, the teams sought to ensure that the establishments adhered to strict food safety guidelines to protect the health and well-being of consumers.
Because of a reported rise in incidents involving alleged consumption of poisonous and expired foods which led to the loss of lives, the trained inspectors from the city’s Environmental Health Section examined various premises, including food storage areas, preparation spaces and hygiene practices.
This, Tshwane said, was to identify any potential risks or violations, and during this exercise, they uncovered some food items that had reached their expiry dates, which they confiscated and destroyed.
“The health and well-being of the city’s residents are of utmost importance, and the city is committed to taking immediate action to prevent any further incidents of non-compliance with the food safety guidelines.
“In Tshwane’s quest to curb the contravention of food safety regulations, the city will increase the frequency of working closely with relevant agencies, including law-
enforcement and food safety experts, to gather all the necessary information and identify any potential lapses in the food supply chain,” Tshwane added.
As part of the contingent, ActionSA members extended condolences to families who lost loved ones as a result of consuming counterfeit goods.
“In the last three months alone, Tshwane has experienced one of the worst food poisoning incidents which adversely affected over 240 pupils from primary schools across Region 1,” ActionSA said in a statement.
The party said during Tuesday’s operation, several spaza shops were found not compliant with Tshwane by-laws, as they did not have the required operating licences.
Two arrests were made by the SAPS.
Residents were encouraged to report any concerns or observations related to food safety in spaza shops to the Municipal Health Services on 012 358 8609/ 3146/ 8611.
Pretoria News