Expired food items confiscated by officials. Pictures: x / @SAPoliceService
The countrywide crackdown on non-compliant spaza shops has begun.
Authorities in the Northern Cape held compliance inspections across several municipalities in the province on Sunday.
Just two days after President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the closure of non-complaint outlets, the Northern Cape officials closed 94% of the shops they inspected.
The inter-governmental food safety campaign is aimed at addressing illicit and contaminated foodstuff sold by tuck shops and spaza shops.
Officials inspected 34 outlets in a variety of towns in the province, unearthing a wide range of violations.
ALSO READ: Ramaphosa vows to shut down shops linked to children food poisoning deaths
They found that only two of the stores operating were doing so with valid licences, resulting in the closure of 32 stores.
“Large volumes of expired, damaged and rotten meat and food items were confiscated during the visits,” confirmed Northern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Mashay Gamieldien.
“A total of seven undocumented foreign nationals were arrested and detained for processing by the Department of Home Affairs and three fines were issued,” the Brigadier added.
Gamieldien asked communities to comply with the instructions of officials in order to assist them in keeping residents safe.
“Collaborated efforts will continue to ensure that fraudulent and fake food and beverages are removed from shelves and offered for sale to communities,” he stated.
Ramaphosa spoke on Friday evening to address the food poisoning crisis spreading across the country.
The President noted how 890 cases of food-borne illnesses have been reported this year, with 22 children having lost their lives.
To combat the issue, the President is mandating that all spaza shops and food-handling facilities must register with their municipalities within three weeks.
“Any shop that is not registered within 21 days and does not meet all health standards and requirements will be closed,” Ramaphosa said.
Additionally, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal will be among the first provinces to experience mass door-to-door inspections of spaza shops and informal traders.
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