Police found this warehouse storing expired foods on Wednesday afternoon. Picture: Saps
As the country grapples with the scourge of foodborne illnesses and poisoning, police in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) have uncovered two warehouses used to store expired food products south of Durban.
The expired items were discovered during an operation in the Bluff area on Wednesday.
ALSO READ: Tuckshop open: Gauteng Education allows food sales within schools
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said food items such as canned fish, fizzy drinks, soya beans, baby food and spices, which are mostly used on chips, were found stored with hazardous chemicals such as pesticides.
“Counterfeit prescription medication, body lotion and expired alcoholic beverages were also found in the two warehouses.”
Netshiunda said during the operation, police also discovered two more warehouses which were storing counterfeit big-brand clothing items worth millions of rand.
“Investigations are underway to locate the people responsible for the sale of expired food which is mostly sold at the township and village spaza shops, as well as the importers of fake clothing items.
“Police have also intensified operations to detect vessels that come into the country carrying prohibited items and products that have not been authorized to be in the country,” Netshiunda said.
The Provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has commended the various units that discovered the warehouses.
Mkhwanazi vowed not to “leave any stone unturned” in search of the people who put the lives of South Africans at risk, especially children who buy expired food from local spaza shops.
Meanwhile, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has announced measures to contain and avoid foodborne illnesses within schools in the province by food vendors, tuckshops and traders.
This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address last week concerning the deaths of children due to food poisoning.
The department earlier this month instructed all schools to suspend the sale of food within and around school premises until further notice, following a recent and alarming increase in incidents of foodborne illnesses affecting pupils across various schools in the province and across the country.
ALSO READ: Ban on food sales ‘too drastic’ and will affect pupils negatively, AfriForum says
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