Proclamation to regulate spaza shops approved
President Cyril Ramaphosa says a proclamation to regulate spaza shops has been approved and will be spearheaded by the Department of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to address the growing scourge of food-borne illnesses and deaths across the country.
In another significant development, the Gauteng Department of Education has issued a directive for the immediate suspension of food sales on school premises, in response to a surge in foodborne illnesses affecting pupils across the province.
The Citizen reports that Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi yesterday revealed that 23 children have died, with 441 spaza shops food contamination cases reported since January.
These cases are caused by the severe food safety crisis that has primarily affected children between 6 and 10 years old who ate snacks from spaza shops near schools.
‘Seven postmortem results out of the 19 deaths tested positive for organophosphate,’ Lesufi said.
Ramaphosa on Friday addressed the presidential community imbizo held in Umgababa, south of Durban.
EWN reports that numerous children have died from the suspected consumption of contaminated foods sold at spaza shops, with hundreds others hospitalised.
The President highlighted the recklessness of spaza shops.
‘This matter is being addressed at the highest level, it’s being raised by several parents – our people.’
The President also highlighted a lack of health and safety measures from spaza shops. Ramaphosa added that Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has been tasked to deal with the issue.
TimesLIVE reports that the DA has called for the deployment of environmental health practitioners across all provinces, especially in high-density areas, to safeguard public health.
It said that unless underlying issues were addressed, food poisoning incidents would become more frequent, posing a constant threat to vulnerable populations, particularly young children.
It called on the Department of Health to implement rigorous, unannounced inspections of vendors and spaza shop owners and establish training programmes for informal food handlers to minimise the risk of contamination and foodborne illnesses.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
