To eat or not to eat – street meat is safe, says expert

You need not fear South African street meat, an expert has reassured locals, amid growing fears around the coronavirus, which some have suggested was born out of Chinese exotic meat markets.

Entering its third month, the Covid-19 pandemic that has killed more than 3,800 people was thought by some doctors to have originated from people exposed to a wet market in Wuhan, China.

Kasinomics author GG Alcock said despite not being served up in a fancy plate and restaurant, a look through Johannesburg’s most popular spots for a street “plate” suggests that more care is taken in preparing this food than the common perception suggested.

Alcock said his research attested that the informal food sector’s shifty hygiene reputation was largely undeserved. In 2018, former Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba was heavily criticised on social media and by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) for overseeing the arrest of a street meat trader who was selling cow heads.

The misconception about informal street vendors was that they were unhygienic and not selling fresh food, Alcock argued. But according to him, the reality was the exactly the opposite.

In this sector which he referred to as the “Kasi kos” sector, consisting of amakota, amagwinya, amaplati, mogodu, “chicken dust” and a range of others, those which sold meat cooked right on the street dominated. These consisted of amaplati (plate of meat with a starch) and amakota (a quarter loaf of bread containing meat and other toppings).

“When consumers are asked why they prefer this food to food sold by formal outlets or supermarket delis, they will tell you that ‘the food at the kasi kos outlet does not sleep there, it is prepared and made every day’.  This is true, the kasi kos outlet buys their vegetable and meat daily, and prepares and sells this food.  None is kept for the next day.”

A very busy Nkululeko Moyo hardly broke a sweat in the sweltering midday heat yesterday as he tended his ten-litre pot of beef stew made from odd cuts bought from a nearby butchery. Across from the Bree Taxi rank in central Johannesburg, he and dozens others arrived in the wee hours of the morning to set up stands, light fires and procure meat for the day.

According to Moyo, who had been cooking his dish for nearly 20 years, a single pot of meat could set him back around R200 worth of fresh meat, which he would begin cooking by 8am. Moyo’s routine was to retrieve a chunk of meat of the customer’s choosing from the stew with a large fork, plop onto the adjacent wooden table, and chop it expertly into minute pieces before scraping it onto a polystyrene plate and topping it with gravy. The pot was usually empty by sunset.

“You will note that these outlets do not have fridges or freezers on their premises, even if they wanted to keep food over,” said Alcock.

“So this food is fresh plus it is prepared and served in front of the consumer.  So it means that the standards of preparation are not hidden in a kitchen at the back, but where consumers are and hence kept at a high standard.  Most outlets will also offer water and soap and a towel for the consumer to wash their hands before and after eating in the traditional African way.”

According to Alcock, in the “kasi kos sector” in South Africa,  50,000 outlets employed about 150,000 people and has a turnover R87 billion a year.  It is a fast-growing sector and is becoming more popular for providing good, fresh and tasty food made in the flavours and tastes people desire.

It is also generally more expensive than for instance a McDonald’s Big Mac, but offered more value.

“An interesting point is that 95% of all kasi kos outlets are South African owned and run, unlike the spaza sector where the opposite figures apply. I have written extensively about this sector and its practices in my book Kasinomic Revolution where I highlight the quality and value of this sector to our economy.”

simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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