Food safety blitz hit more spaza shops

The Brakpan SAPS joined forces with stakeholders and formed a multidisciplinary team to tackle the sale of unhealthy and poisonous food by supermarkets and spaza shops on October 29.

The Ekurhuleni Health Department led the operation, with support from the EMPD By-Laws Unit and the city planning, local economic development, solid waste departments and the CPF.

They did a food safety blitz at informal spaza shops and supermarkets in the Brakpan area. The primary objectives focused on:

• compliance of premises in terms of the applicable legislation, Regulation 638, which governs general hygiene requirements for food premises, the transportation of food and related matters;
• compliance in terms of the Business Act; and
• criminal activities and offences.

The public’s concerns about the sale of fake, poisonous and unhealthy food compelled the National Department of Health (NDH) to issue an urgent directive to investigate allegations regarding the sale of food products, especially those not labelled according to regulation R146 of 2010.

This regulation prohibits the sale, donation, manufacturing, packaging and removal of labels on food items.

During the operation, officers closed 14 food shops, including spaza shops, supermarkets and restaurants, confiscating various foods, which they destroyed in a waste truck.

The debriefing session held after the intense operation saw various issues and challenges discussed, which will be prioritised in the next operation in Brakpan.

The NDH requires that all foodstuffs be safe for human consumption in terms of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectant Act of 1972, which addresses the manufacture, labelling, sale and importation of foodstuffs.

The collaboration of the SAPS and the relevant stakeholders ensures compliance and prevents lawlessness in the food industry, which has become a prevalent issue and cost lives.

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