The Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition has welcomed the work government departments and entities have been doing on classified foodborne illnesses, particularly inspections of foodstuffs in manufacturing facilities, retailers, spaza shops, and points of entry for imported goods.
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), the National Consumer Commission (NCC), and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) briefed the committee on their responses to the national disaster of classified foodborne illnesses on Wednesday.
On 19 November 2024, the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) classified foodborne illnesses as a national disaster under Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act of 2002. Classification formally acknowledges the existence or likelihood of a disaster, enabling multi-pronged and targeted responses to mitigate its impacts.
The DTIC noted that it was working with the Department of Small Business Development and the National Empowerment Fund to provide spaza shops with funding for the refurbishment of businesses to enable compliance with food safety standards and facilitate wholesale aggregation (bulk buying) to improve their competitiveness.
Furthermore, these small businesses would be provided with non-financial support, such as technical skills and support for regulatory compliance and capacity building. These interventions are mainly aimed at increasing the participation of South African-owned spaza shops in townships and the retail trade sector in rural areas and providing safe and affordable products to township and rural communities.
Regarding consumer protection against harmful or unsafe food products, the NCC has established a toll-free national hotline number (012 065 1940) where the public can report unsafe food-related activities. The hotline is available Monday through Friday from 08h30 to 19h00 and on weekends and public holidays from 08h30 to 12h30.
Furthermore, it conducts education and awareness programmes for consumers on their rights on various platforms and trains businesses on food handling, safety standards, and regulatory requirements. In collaboration with other regulatory bodies and enforcement agencies, it conducts inspections of food establishments, including spazas in provinces.
The NRCS reported conducting inspections for fish and fishery products, canned meat and processed cold meats at retailers, wholesalers, fishing vessels, canning facilities and factories.
The committee welcomed these interventions and the continued work of the DTIC and these entities in line with their mandates, as these interventions appear to be bearing fruit and halting this crisis. Consumer protection is a priority that should not be compromised; hence, the committee urged the DTIC and its entities to ramp up inspections and increase their reach to vulnerable communities.
The committee noted its appreciation that the government has correctly identified challenges and has started thinking creatively about measures to improve compliance across the food value chain.
"These processes need to be streamlined and done in a manner that guarantees consumer safety while supporting and promoting the participation of black South Africans in the spaza shop sector," said committee Chairperson, Mr Mzwandile Masina.
"Plans around assistance and support for bulk-buying are key to ensuring South Africans can compete in this market. The committee appreciates the proposed wholesale aggregation and the intervention of a revolving facility for aspiring spaza shop owners and believes it will increase participation", said Mr Masina.
In addition, he commended the NCC on the ongoing investigation of big retailers such as Woolworths and Checkers, as well as some of their suppliers. These investigations are for various issues of non-compliance with the Consumer Protection Act.
The committee remains concerned that some people were made to pay fees when they registered their spaza shops. Thus, the committee requested that the DTIC engage other departments and spheres of government on this and brief the committee on developments in this regard.
The committee called on these entities to find creative ways to expand their reach and ensure that education and awareness of consumer rights and business requirements are well-known.