Shops in Kliptown fined for selling expired products
Several shops failed to meet hygienic standards, while others were found to be selling products that had expired as far back as 2019.
Several shops in Kliptown, near Walter Sisulu Square were found to be selling expired products, while others failed to meet standard hygiene and safety regulations.
This was discovered during a joint operation from the Kliptown Community Police Forum (CPF) in partnership with the JMPD, SAPS, Pikitup, and the City of Johannesburg in Kliptown, Walter Sisulu Square on Thursday. The operation included inspection checks of suspected drug dens, health and hygiene standards checks on businesses, as well as license and registration checks for drivers in the area.
CPF patrollers, with JMPD officials and COJ environmental health specialists, walked through the busy Square searching shops, checking the expiry dates of products, and ensuring that residents and businesses adhered to Covid – 19 protocols. Several shops failed to meet hygienic standards. Others were found to be selling products that had expired as far back as 2019, with some business owners having had rubbed off the expiry dates on the products. COJ’s Ward 17 Environmental Health Operational Manager and Team Leader on the day, Gabisile Mbhele said the results her team collected from the inspection show that a lot needs to be done in Kliptown.
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“The results tell us that there’s a lot that needs to be fixed here. Many buildings are old, infested with rats. Many business owners have tried to keep cats as pets to chase away rats at their shops. This is a challenge because some customers may have allergies. A lot of the businesses we inspected did not meet basic health and hygiene standards. Fines and notices have been issued, we’ll now follow COJ procedures to address these issues. To the community, we ask that they are more vigilant: check expiry dates on your foods, check if shops you’re buying from complies with environmental health regulations,” Mbhele said.
During the operation, 20 shops were searched, 10 fines issued, while 11 trading licenses and 8 statutory notices were issued.
Chairperson of the CPF, Billy Peterson said he hoped that the operation would not be the last of its kind.
“We are pleased to have had the operation, we hope it will not be the last. We know the environmental health team will deal with these businesses selling expired products because they endanger the lives of our community. We ask that community members also be very careful when buying, if you see that a product has had the expiry date rubbed off rather don’t buy. We ask that you continue working with the CPF and the police to clean-up our communities” said Peterson.
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