Police have yet to arrest any of the spaza shop owners suspected to be behind the discarding of expired stock in a dumping container in Town Two, Khayelitsha on Tuesday.
Police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said members of Makhaza SAPS and the Crime Prevention Unit responded to information received of spaza shop owners dumping alleged expired stock in a dumping container.
“Councillors and the community were concerned as children allegedly attempted to take the discarded food items. The members collected the discarded food items for safety reasons and (it) was booked in at Makhaza SAPS as abandoned.
“Health inspectors were contacted and they also visited the scene and arrangements were made to discard the expired food items the proper way.
“No arrests have been made,” Van Wyk said.
The incident comes days after President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that pesticide-related deaths had claimed the lives of at least 22 children across the country.
Following his address, nine children from Mossel Bay were discharged from hospital after being rushed there due to stomach cramps allegedly linked to chips they bought from a local shop.
The children allegedly shared packets of chips, which resulted in them experiencing persistent stomach cramps on Monday, according to the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM).
GRDM mayor Andrew Stroebel said: “The children received prompt care, with their parents/guardians by their side throughout the ordeal. Medical staff confirmed that all nine children have since recovered and discharged.”
Health department spokesperson, Nadia Ferreira said the learners were thoroughly assessed by the medical team and found to be stable.
“They were observed to ensure their well-being before being discharged. A 3-year-old child with the same symptoms and additional vomiting was brought to the Emergency Centre later the day and was kept for observation. The child is doing well and will most likely be discharged later today, 19 November 2024.
We appreciate the community's concern for the health and safety of these young learners,” Ferreira said.
The chips will be sent to a laboratory, and test results will be made public once available.
Meanwhile, the implementation of Ramaphosa’s 21-day window for re-registration to address the recurring food-borne illnesses linked to pesticides, has been slow, industry role-players said.
National Informal Traders’ Alliance of SA (Nitasa) president Rosheda Muller said: “There are some delays on the ground, some (provinces) have said they don’t see major movement yet. Others have said when (authorities) got there, there was not even a municipal officer to help with registration. Law enforcement and SAPS are moving around to bigger spaza shops in townships who have no registration. But there are hundreds of thousands of smaller shops selling fruit and vegetables, sweets, cold drinks, braaing meat, on the ground, here we have not seen action yet.”
Stellenbosch University food science professor Pieter Gouws explained food-borne illness is an umbrella term that describes “any illness caused by consuming foods or beverages contaminated with harmful pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, or toxins from the organism, or toxic chemicals”.
“We divide it into a food-borne infection and a food borne intoxication. Food-borne illnesses are caused by contamination of food and occur at any stage of the food production, delivery and consumption chain. Some people are more at risk of food poisoning than others. Vulnerable groups include pregnant women, young children, the elderly and anyone with a chronic disease,” he said.
Education and awareness of food safety issues is now more important than ever, he said. Owners of shops and their employees need to take responsibility for what they sell, where they buy it from and how they store the products. Hygienic practices and separation of toxic chemicals and harmful bacteria from food is becoming non negotiable, Gouws said.
Cape Times