Food safety needs to be a priority with increased public awareness regarding the purchase and consumption of food products and the registration and inspection of small businesses to ensure compliance with food safety requirements.
This is according to Professor Lise Korsten, Professor in Plant Health and Food Safety, president of the Africa Academy of Science and co-director of the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of Pretoria.
She was commenting after a series of alleged food poisoning incidents in Gauteng and one incident in KwaZulu-Natal.
Six pupils from different schools in Naledi, Soweto died allegedly after consuming food purchased from a spaza shop.
In addition, 25 primary school pupils from Mshuluzane Mayisela Primary School were admitted to a hospital in Bronkhorstspruit after eating snacks bought from a street vendor.
This week 43 pupils from Ngaqa Primary School in Mtubatuba, KZN, fell ill after consuming snacks purchased from a vendor outside the school’s premises.
Korsten, who is currently attending the Dubai International Food Safety Conference, stated that “a few incidences” of sudden death across South Africa are one too many for any country.
“A quick search revealed that over 200 cases (of food poisoning) have been reported in Gauteng in 2024 alone, associated with improper food handling by informal shops or traders,” she said.
In the Ekurhuleni district, there were 119 cases, 31 in Tshwane, and 14 in the West Rand district, she noted.
“What is noticeable is that it now warrants a formal investigation by the government,” she said, citing the fact that the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) is addressing the recent deaths as a national security threat, with various government departments investigating the matter.
Korsten emphasised the need for community awareness, stating, “All small shop owners must be registered and inspected to ensure compliance with very basic food safety facility requirements, which include pest control, hygiene, and sanitation.”
She also highlighted that products sold must be labelled and traceable to prevent illegal foodstuffs from entering the food system.
“We must take food handling, storage, sales, and preparation seriously.
Keeping in mind, if it is not safe, it is not food,” said Korsten.
Korsten explained that vendors who sell fresh produce, such as fruit and vegetables, often procure their stock from local fresh produce markets or regional small-scale farmers, and their regulation falls under the Department of Agriculture or local authorities.
“Spaza shops fall under the Environmental Health Inspectors and are supposed to be regulated by local municipal by-laws,” she added.
According to Korsten, fresh produce is not to be blamed; rather, it is the food snack items that have been repacked and come from uncertain sources that may have been contaminated with chemicals used in pest and rodent control.
She noted that while the formal sector is highly regulated and has a strong self-regulatory framework driven by market access, the informal sector has fewer incentives to establish food safety systems and is often non-regulated due to various reasons.
These reasons include a lack of adequate numbers of environmental health inspectors in the region, as well as a lack of community awareness, knowledge, education, and training.
“An important reality of the informal sector is also a lack of basic infrastructure and resources, such as waste removal, sanitary and personal hygiene facilities, i.e clean water, ablutions, and environments to prepare and trade food, such as cold storage facilities,” said Korsten.
Korsten said these incidents are very different when compared to the Listeria outbreak in 2017, which lasted under a year and was linked to a single processing plant where the products were recalled and destroyed. That outbreak resulted in over 200 deaths and more than 1 000 illnesses.
“The lesson we did not learn was to develop a rapid response team that can immediately investigate and act. Food safety should be a priority focus for our country, especially where we have food insecurity at the home level,” she said.
The Mercury