A food safety scare has left patients at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital anxious and frustrated, after reports surfaced that some were served nothing more than bread and margarine for lunch.

DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC Dr Jack Bloom, who visited the hospital on November 18 following complaints from families, first raised the concern.

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He said patients were not receiving their usual plated lunches because the Masakhane Cook Freeze Factory, responsible for supplying meals to six hospitals and 17 community health centres, had been shut down by the City of Tshwane after traces of E.coli were detected.

According to Bloom, the situation had already begun affecting wards last week, with nurses confirming that relatives had started bringing food from home to fill the gap.

“It is shameful that a provincial food facility is closed because of contaminated food,” he said, adding that the closure highlighted ongoing issues of outdated equipment and poor management.

But the Gauteng Department of Health has pushed back strongly against claims of a widespread food shortage.

Speaking at a media briefing on November 25, Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, assured the public that no patients were going hungry and that all facilities continue to provide three meals a day. She emphasised that the closure was a precautionary measure taken after contamination was detected in the water supply that fed the factory, not in the food itself.

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“The decision to halt production was made to protect public health. There have been no reported illnesses linked to meals from Masakhane,” she said.

She confirmed that each affected hospital had put contingency plans in place, with food service teams preparing alternative meals while the factory undergoes deep cleaning and installs a new water purification system.

Although there is no firm timeline for when Masakhane will resume operations, the department said it was prioritising staff training and strengthening food-safety protocols to prevent similar disruptions in future.

For now, the reassurance from officials offers some comfort, but for many families who witnessed their loved ones receiving scant lunches last week, the hope is simply that full, nutritious meals will return to the wards as soon as possible.

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