The City’s health teams check the expiry dates of food items at a tuck-shop in the Bhambhayi area. Confiscated items that were not supposed to be sold to the public including, unlabelled food items, expired food items, and prohibited cigarettes were seized.

TO SAFEGUARD public health in townships, the City’s Health Unit conducted a law enforcement inspection of tuck-shops in the Bhambayi area of the Inanda township. The team focused on ensuring compliance with food and safety standards. Officials checked food item labels to ensure supplier details were visible and expiry dates were current, confirming the food was safe for consumption.

During the inspection, the team, comprising representatives from Health, Business Support, Fire, and the South African Police Service confiscated unlabeled food items, prohibited cigarettes, and pills issued without prescriptions. Some tuck-shops were fined for operating without business licenses and for not having fire extinguishers. These inspections are part of an ongoing tuck-shop inspection campaign. Head of the City’s Health Unit Rose van Heerden said inspections are conducted throughout the year as part of the Environmental Health section’s core functions. “Our Environmental Health Practitioners in all sub-regions are contiously inspecting food premises. 

They visit schools and early childhood development centres to educate school children and create awareness. We have even trained managers of food retail stores on food safety, food display, and hygiene practices, allowing them to ask questions to better understand the impact of not adhering to health and safety standards,” said Van Heerden. The public welcomed these inspections, especially amid the national crisis where children in other provinces have fallen ill after consuming snacks bought from spaza shops.

Bhambayi resident Xolile Mpisana expressed her satisfaction at seeing Municipal staff conducting inspections in the area. “We need these inspections to be done because these tuck-shops sell expired goods to us. I am happy that the City has chosen to include these tuck-shops as part of their oversight visits. Shop owners who are found guilty should be arrested for non-compliance. We are tired of our health not being taken into consideration,” said Mpisana. The City’s multidisciplinary teams, led by the City’s Environmental Health Practitioners, continue to inspect tuckshops, visit schools, and hold training sessions with school informal traders about the safe handling of food and complying with food and safety standards. Similar operations are planned in other areas.