Expired drinks

Store-keepers across the Waterberg stocking up on expired or counterfeit consumables were being watched closely by environmental health authorities.

Last Wednesday 29 August the Choppies grocery chain store in Bela-Bela was surprised by health inspectors.

Waterberg environmental health department spokesperson, Pat Malete, confirmed the grocery store was slapped with a R1 000 spot fine, for the alleged possession and sale of expired soft-drinks.

The BEAT team at the scene saw a bakkie brought along by Waterberg environmental affairs, which removed three loads of the various sizes of bottles of soft-drink.

Malete said the raid on the store was routine, and that the Bela-Bela Local Municipality had been engaged to destroy the confiscated soft-drinks at the local dumping site.

Bela-Bela Detectives Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Abel Phetla, said he was aware of the operation.

He explained that in the event a suspect paid a spot fine to environmental health officials, this development would not necessarily be on the records of the police.

He said the role of the police in such operations was more often than not to provide back-up.

According to officials on the scene, some of the soft-drinks had expired as far back as December last year.

Choppies store manager, Sanjay Patel, said the outlet stocked up on the soft-drinks in bulk from a supplier in Pretoria.

Phetla said no docket was opened as the store chose to pay the spot fine of R 1000.

In recent weeks, residents of Soweto in Gauteng went on the rampage, breaking into and looting items from shops owned by foreign nationals, accusing them of allegedly selling expired and
counterfeit consumables.

— The BEAT