The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, has called for reinforced health and safety compliance at spaza shops after an eight-year-old boy was hospitalised after allegedly consuming snacks from a local tuckshop in Mapetla, Soweto.
Officials visited the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where the child remains in the intensive care unit (ICU).
“What we need to embark on now is to reinforce the implementation that every spaza shop that did not go through the process of registration should not have its door open
“I am happy that the spaza shop in which the child is reported to have bought snacks that affected him is shut down."
According to the City of Johannesburg, the shop was closed on Monday, April 7, by the city’s Environmental Health Department (EHD) on suspicion of selling contaminated snacks.
City of Joburg spokesperson Virgil James said the EHD acted after receiving a circulating video that showed a ward councillor reporting a suspected food poisoning case in Mapetla on Saturday, April 5.
He said on Monday, April 7, EHD inspectors interviewed the child's family.
“They were informed on April 4, at around 9 am, the child bought a maize snack from Robot tuckshop in Mapetla and a drink which he shared with his three siblings at home.”
By 1 pm, the child started vomiting, complained of stomach pains, and lost mobility, James said.
“He was fortunately able to communicate to his aunt what he bought and from which shop.”
He was rushed to Chiawelo Clinic, where he was then transferred to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where he is currently in the ICU.
“The other three siblings were also taken to Chiawelo Clinic as a form of precaution, but showed no signs of illness. They were, nevertheless, given treatment and released to go home,” James added.
James said the police recovered a sample of an empty packet of snacks that the child allegedly consumed and removed, including the same batch of products from the shop.
He said an investigation was opened.
James said the EHD inspectors also interviewed the investigating officer at Moroka police station.
“The Environmental Health investigation conducted in response to the incident is awaiting results from the laboratory for further action,” he added.
He said the Robot tuckshop located at 447 Koma Road Mapetla, is registered in the city’s Environmental Health database and is subjected to quarterly monitoring.
“Previously, the premises was issued a fine for operating without a Certificate of Acceptability (COA) and for non-compliance with housekeeping requirements. Following this, an application for a COA was submitted by the operator.”
He said a follow-up inspection was conducted April 7, after the incident and the shop was found to be compliant regarding food storage practices, labelling and ventilation.
However, James said it lacked pest control services from a registered provider.
“The person in charge reported not using any illegal pest control methods and no residues or rodent droppings were observed,” he said.
“The premises are currently closed.”
He said the EHD will continue with regular inspections of spaza shops and immediately close any tuckshops found to be non-compliant.
James said that to date, the city’s system has captured 390 foreign-owned and 320 locally owned spaza shops.
“Generally, the largest number of spaza shop applicants are in the township: 657 and 45 in the city,” he added.
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