The Department of Health Services at the West Rand District Municipality (WRDM) warned food-handling facilities and businesses operating without a Certificate of Acceptability (COA) or do not comply with the requirements of their COA.
A COA issued by the relevant local authority is required before food can be handled by any person, including those involved in food handling at special events.
Themba Makhoba, manager of the department, said a food sample was taken at a local food store recently and an unusual substance was found in a soft drink.
Makhoba appealed to all local businesses to cooperate with Environmental Health practitioners who will be taking random samples of their food stock to check whether they comply with health regulations.
“WRDM Environmental Health practitioners will take samples randomly once a month. The samples will then be analysed without the businesses having to pay for the tests,” Makhoba said.
He advised the public always to be careful when buying food products and said it is their responsibility to check the expiry dates on the products. They must also look out for any unusual changes in products, especially in colour, and check for strange odours.
“If a product is suspect, you may send it to the nearest Municipal Health Services office. Very soon the municipality will begin to issue fines to businesses not complying and operating without a COA.
“We therefore urge all food-handling facilities to allow Environmental Health practitioners to collect samples from food outlets in the Rand West City to protect the public,” Mkhoba said.
