WATCH: Local authorities shut down popcorn business
A video, seen by the Benoni City Times, shows a large amount of cooked popcorn scattered on the floor of a dilapidated room.
Crystal Park police, in collaboration with members of the EMPD and the Environmental Health Department, closed down an illegal factory this morning (October 18) that produced Rainbow Sweet Popcorn, known as Skopas, at a plot in Cloverdene.
According to a reliable source, these products were allegedly sold to local spaza shops, but the police couldn’t confirm this.
Crystal Park SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Lerato Mopeli said officers previously responded to a noise complaint with suspicions that the facility was being used as an illegal mining site. However, it was discovered that it was a business.
It is reported that the business was in poor condition and lacking proper hygiene practices.
It is alleged that the owner of the business, a 36-year-old Zimbabwean woman, had previously been warned by members of the EMPD before today’s raid.
A video, seen by the Benoni City Times, shows a large amount of cooked popcorn scattered on the floor of a dilapidated room.
“The owner failed to produce a trading permit. Members of the EMPD confiscated the popcorn machine and members of the Environmental Health Department took the popcorn product,” said Mopeli.
She added that the woman’s immigration documents were in order, so she was not arrested.
It has come to the attention of the City Times that the property, which is rented out, allegedly belongs to a member of the Ekurhuleni council.
Meanwhile, a resident who resides near the factory expressed health concerns, especially in light of the recent surge in food poisoning cases affecting children in townships across Gauteng over the past few months.
The City Times has sought comment from the EMPD.
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