Ramaphosa unveils plan to fight food safety crisis

By Sinenhlanhla Mncwango | 18 November 2024 | 4:00 pm

President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Friday evening, announcing urgent measures to tackle a food safety crisis that has led to rising cases of foodborne illnesses and fatalities across South Africa.

This follows 890 reported cases since September 2024, with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal among the hardest-hit provinces.

Ramaphosa said a major incident in Soweto’s Naledi community highlighted the severity of the crisis, where six children died after consuming food contaminated with terbufos, a hazardous substance contained in pesticides registered for agricultural use but illicitly sold for household purposes.

He added that the National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed terbufos contamination in food samples, including a chips packet found with one of the children.

Investigators discovered improper storage of food alongside pesticides in some spaza shops. Additionally, other banned substances such as aldicarb, often informally sold to control rat infestations, were linked to previous deaths in Ekurhuleni and Soweto.

“The unregulated use of restricted pesticides in communities has become a growing problem, with devastating consequences,” said Ramaphosa.

In response, he said the government had devised a three-part intervention focusing on removing hazardous pesticides from circulation, protecting children, and preventing future outbreaks.

Ramaphosa said the plan of action was that spaza shops implicated in the deaths would immediately be closed, all food handling establishments had to register with local municipalities within 21 days or face closure, door-to-door inspections of spaza shops, tuck

shops, and informal traders would begin in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, expanding nationwide, and manufacturers and distributors of pesticides containing terbufos would undergo rigorous inspections to prevent illicit sales.

Regarding the protection of children, the president said schools would receive d guidelines on managing food suppliers and preventing foodborne illnesses.

A public education campaign will raise awareness about food safety, proper chemical storage, and the dangers of hazardous pesticides, and specific pesticides will be classified as “dangerous objects” and be prohibited on school premises.

In order to prevent future outbreaks, Ramaphosa said: “Local municipalities will be tasked with improving waste management and addressing rat infestations, particularly in vulnerable communities. A ministerial health advisory committee will explore medium- and long-term prevention strategies, and R500 million will be allocated to support township and rural businesses in improving compliance and food safety standards.”