By Johnathan Paoli
The food contamination crisis in Gauteng’s spaza shops has mostly affected children, according to premier Panyaza Lesufi.
While announcing the provincial government’s plans to deal with the emergency, he said that 23 people had died and 441 were hospitalised since the beginning of this year.
This was according to a preliminary report from the provincial health department.
The majority of the cases involved children aged between six and 10, with Ekurhuleni reporting the highest number of incidences, followed by the West Rand.
Most deaths were reported in Johannesburg, followed by Ekurhuleni, with seven post-mortem results out of the 19 deaths testing positive for organophosphates, which is a pesticide.
On Sunday, Lesufi met provincial and local government leaders to discuss the crisis and what action needed to be taken.
“We all agreed that addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach involving stricter regulations, better enforcement of existing laws and increased public awareness about the potential dangers associated with purchasing from unregulated spaza shops and informal traders,” he told reporters in Johannesburg.
This follows Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa gazetting the Standard Draft By-Law for Township Economies in the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act.
Lesufi said municipalities would also be expected to establish a system for regular health inspections by local health authorities to ensure compliance with food safety regulations.
He called for community awareness campaigns to educate consumers about food safety, signs of spoilage and how to report unsafe practices.
The premier said that while municipalities had until the end of the month to adopt the regulations, it did not stop law enforcement agencies from responding to cases.
“Even though we are waiting for municipalities to take the resolution that we have adopted, law enforcement agencies are not prohibited to act as of tomorrow, or this afternoon. We are not suspending any action on the basis that we are waiting for the adoption of laws. Those adoptions will strengthen our approach,” he said.
Lesufi said a template was being developed to be utilised by hospitals, schools and community healthcare centres to ensure accurate reporting.
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