Follow up: GSDM has no info about drink with blobs
The Gert Sibande District Municipality said it has no information about the soft drink containing black blobs bought by a community member from a shop in extension 22 in eMbalenhle.
The Gert Sibande District Municipality (GSDM) has no information about the soft drink containing black blobs that a community member bought from a shop at Ext 22 in eMbalenhle.
However, the matter will receive urgent attention once information on the claim stated in the newspaper is to hand.
The newspaper sent an inquiry to the GSDM after the police had to shut down a tuck shop when a consumer found black, gooey blobs inside a soft drink.
The municipality’s health inspectors were called, but Ridge Times was referred to the GSDM because they handle the business compliance standards on health and safety.
ALSO READ: Woman from eMbalenhle finds strange blobs in soft drink bought at local tuck shop
Skhethile Gumbi, a resident of Ext 22, sent her 10-year-old son to the tuck shop to buy a soft drink for her and her two friends.
According to Gumbi, she immediately noticed the soft drink bottle was not sealed and opened with ease. When pouring the drink, she saw a black jelly-like substance fall into the glass.
Their ward councillor, Roger Vilakazi, told the newspaper that he took the drink to the speaker’s office.
“Cases relating to municipal health must be reported to the satellite district municipal health office,” said Bongi Dube, the head of communication at GSDM.
“Upon receipt of the report, an investigation by the health inspectors will commence.
“Ordinarily, if contaminated food is found during a routine inspection, it is confiscated pending the outcome of food samples.
”Should the food be found unfit for human consumption, a range of actions can be taken against the business in line with the Food Stuffs, Cosmetics, and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act 54 of 1972),” explained Dube.
Dube said the GSDM availed nine health inspectors in the Govan Mbeki jurisdiction.
The inspectors are stationed in Evander (behind the fire station) and service Charl Cilliers, Secunda, eMbalenhle, Evander, Kinross, Eendracht and Leandra.
Others are stationed in the Bethal municipal offices and service Trichardt, Bethal and eMzinoni.
The contact number for the Evander office is 072 580 9080. Call 082 904 0733 for the Bethal office.
Dube said inspections are conducted weekly from Monday to Thursday in facilities inside and outside community settings.
She also said there is an approved schedule of inspections for all the health inspectors.
These determine their daily schedules of inspections, whether in shops, clinics, schools, daycare centres, industries, farms, water treatment plants and others, meaning that the inspections do not only focus on shops or businesses but other facilities too.
