Premier shocked at food quality at spaza shops
The Premier of KZN found meat that was green in colour during the spaza inspections in Gamalakhe.
Meat that had turned green and sour milk that will expire six months from now is what the Premier of KZN, Thami Ntuli, found while he was inspecting spaza shops in Gamalakhe on Tuesday last week.
Under the Premier’s Community Safety and Liaison Department, Ntuli inspected spaza shops in Gamalakhe with other government departments as the deadline to register these businesses was December 13.
Ntuli said in two shops in Gamalakhe, they found food on sale that was not fit for human consumption.
“I was disappointed when we inspected shops in Gamalakhe. What was shocking was that the sour milk (maas) that we found on sale had labels that said they would expire in March and June 2025. Never in my life have I ever seen maas that expires after six months. We all know sour milk has a short lifespan. We saw that these expiry dates were fake,” he said.
He added: “The meat we found in the fridges was green in colour, but when you look at the expiry date, it says it will expire next year. The situation in spaza shops is bad not only in Gamalakhe but in the whole province. We are here to tell our people that they must not buy expired food.”
The Premier said what was also worrying was that spaza shops in Gamalakhe are not operated by South Africans.
He said they are run by illegal foreign nationals who can’t produce legal documents that permit them to be in the country.
“There is a mammoth task ahead of us. We need to fight this because several innocent lives have been lost.
Children are eating what is sold here and are dying. We all have to unite and say enough is enough. Those who are in South Africa illegally must leave the country,” said the Premier.
He added that the Saps and the Department of Home Affairs are assisting in fighting the problem.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Fever’s Facebook page
