Durban: KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli said the provincial government remains concerned about spaza shops failing to comply with food safety regulations.
This comes after inspections of spaza shops uncovered rotten meat, expired baby food and chips.
These compliance inspections follow the recent rise in foodborne illnesses allegedly linked to products sold at these shops.
The Premier was speaking during a crime stats update at the Department of Public Works building in Mayville on Tuesday.
“Provincial government remains concerned about the deaths as a result of consuming expired foods and snacks purchased at spaza shops that are mostly managed and run by foreign immigrants,” said Ntuli.
He said the province is concerned about the non-compliance that the government has witnessed during its inspection of these businesses.
“In two spaza shops that we visited in Gamalakhe (on the KZN South Coast), we were shocked to uncover rotten meat being kept in the refrigerator; expired baby food and chips were also discovered,” said Ntuli.
The Premier stated that the province would continue to conduct inspections of food handling facilities, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers.
“We applaud Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi for decisive leadership by issuing an instruction to District Joints to include these inspections and raids in their festive season safety plans,” he said.
Ntuli added that a special MuniMEC meeting was convened with all municipalities last month, where standard by-laws were introduced.
“As government, we expect all spaza shop owners to have registered their establishments,” he said.
Ntuli however noted that these registrations are still being processed by the municipalities.
Last week, The Mercury reported that the eThekwini Municipality has received more than 2 500 new registration applications from spaza shop owners ahead of the deadline.
Last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that all spaza shops and other food handling facilities must be registered in the municipalities in which they operate within 21 days or face closure.
The registration drive was prompted by the recurring illnesses linked to pesticides (including the highly hazardous chemical Terbufos), with more than 800 reported incidents that have claimed the lives of at least 22 children across the country.
The report stated that there was confusion around the deadline. Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said weekends and public holidays were not included, and the actual deadline for spaza shop registrations is Tuesday, December 17.
According to the report, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba said that the database of successfully registered spaza shops, including existing ones, would be available on the eThekwini Municipality website for transparency.