Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) recently visited spaza shops in Oudtshoorn and Ladismith as part of activities marking World Food Safety Day on 7 June, promoting cleanliness and hygienic food handling to ensure compliance with food safety regulations.
The initiative, led by the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM), focused on educating shop owners and employees on proper food storage, personal hygiene, waste management and pest control to help reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses.
According to the GRDM Municipal Health Chief: Klein Karoo, Desmond Paulse, the initiative supported this year’s World Food Safety Day theme, “Food Safety: From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere.”
“Through inspections, education and engagement with shop owners, EHPs encourage proper hygiene practices, safe food handling and regular cleaning of premises,” said Paulse. He added that the theme aims to inspire action to help prevent and manage foodborne risks in order to safeguard food security and healthy communities.
As part of the campaign, EHPs also distributed daily, weekly and monthly cleaning checklists to shop owners to encourage consistent hygiene practices and assist them in maintaining food safety standards.
According to the GRDM, the majority of businesses cooperated with officials and welcomed the educational approach. However, one spaza shop was closed after inspectors identified serious hygiene concerns, while five food samples were collected for laboratory analysis as part of routine food safety monitoring.
The GRDM noted that Municipal Health Services within the district fall under its jurisdiction, with EHPs responsible for inspecting supermarkets, restaurants, street vendors, food stalls and spaza shops to monitor food safety and hygiene.
The municipality also used the opportunity to remind residents not to spread unverified allegations about food safety or shops operated by foreign nationals.
It follows the circulation of social media posts claiming that food sold by foreign nationals is deliberately being poisoned.
The GRDM said there is no evidence to support the claims and warned that spreading unverified information could create unnecessary panic.
Residents are encouraged to report suspected food safety concerns through the proper municipal channels rather than sharing unverified information on social media. EHPs investigate complaints, collect food samples where necessary and monitor compliance with food safety legislation.
The GRDM further urged consumers to support food safety by purchasing food from establishments that maintain good hygiene standards, checking expiry dates and reporting any suspected unsafe food products to municipal health authorities.
In a separate operation on Tuesday 9 June, an integrated team comprising SAPS, Municipal Law Enforcement, the Fire Brigade and Immigration officials conducted compliance inspections at spaza shops in Bridgton and Bongolethu.
According to GOOD Party councillor and MMC for Community Services, Ashwill Oktober, and Director of Community Services, Ian Avontuur, several suspected illegal immigrants were arrested and a number of shops were closed during the operation.
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