In response to the rising public health concerns and recent fatalities linked to contaminated food, eThekwini Municipality's Health Unit is set to implement a comprehensive multidisciplinary operational campaign targeting compliance monitoring and enforcement in spaza and tuck shops across the city.
This comes amid the growing need for government to regulate the informal food outlets.
City's Health Unit Head, Rose Van Heerden, emphasised the need for both enforcement and public education as part of the campaign, which will take place over the next two months.
Van Heerden said the unit's campaign aims not only to enforce compliance but also educate business owners and the public about safe food practices, thereby safeguarding community health and well-being.
"Before we can enforce regulations, we must educate tuck shop owners about health standards. The continued sale of unsafe food items poses a risk, especially to vulnerable children in our communities.
"We need to engage with those who sell to schools, be it tuck shops or individuals, about practicing good safety standards and basic food hygiene," Van Heerden said.
She said the campaign will cover various areas, including KwaNyuswa, Embo, Molweni, KwaDabeka, Wybank, Hillcrest, Waterfall, and uMlazi, with teams from Environmental Health Services, Metro Police, SAPS, and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development.
Van Heerden noted that from January to September 2024, the Health Unit conducted over 600 inspections, and more than 700 enforcement actions across its three sub-districts.
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During a similar operation conducted in November last year, authorities condemned hundreds of food items from over 80 tuck shops in Pinetown and surrounding areas.
To protect public health, Van Heerden said the teams will check food expiry dates to prevent the sale of expired goods.
She said the municipality had closed shops that had no legal documents to operate a shop and they were also going to do the same during the campaign.
"Our law enforcement partners will arrest undocumented individuals who do not present required business permits, the shutdown of illegal establishments, and the issuance of compliance notices and fines for any by-law violations," Van Heerden said.
Van Heerden has encouraged residents to remain vigilant when purchasing food from informal vendors and to report any concerns regarding product safety to the appropriate authorities.
Complaints can be directed to the city on 031 311 3555 or via WhatsApp on 083 560 3974.
