Mondelez, a global food and beverage company, hosted a food safety discussion in Sandton following the deadly outbreak of listeriosis around the country.
The discussion aimed to provide more insight into the food safety industry, as well as the precautions that are taken to ensure that all food is safe for consumption in a bid to re-establish trust with consumers. However, during the discussion, challenges in the food safety industry were also addressed which include a lack of communication between government and corporate companies, and a lack of human resources to inspect various processes.
Roy Kirby, the global director for food safety at Mondelez, Peter Manganye, the City’s director of environmental health, Matlou Setati, from the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa and Dr Bhekisi Dlamini, a lecturer at the Department of Food Technology at the University of Johannesburg, provided their insight of food safety during the discussion.
Setati said that in terms of global food safety, South African legislation was comprehensive and consumers are beginning to be more informed about the food they eat and the process it goes through before it is sold.
Kirby added that because there are so many different processes food goes through, from raw materials to distribution, it is important to ensure that all the correct steps are followed from country to country. He added that there are some disagreements between countries over what is safe and what is not, which also needs to be addressed.
Ensuring that proper food safety is taught to consumers and those who work with food is essential. Manganye said, “We run a lot of campaigns to raise awareness among informal and formal traders, households and schools. There are certain key elements of preventing food-borne diseases.”
Dlamini concluded by saying that there are various systems in place to ensure that food is adequately tested before it is sold. Developing technology also makes it easier to test food safety efficiently and trace where food might have been contaminated.
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