Learners react to illicit food
Some of the children from KwaZenzele informal settlement have since been discharged from the hospital after allegedly consuming expired food bought from various foreign-owned spaza shops.
Over 30 children from KwaZenzele informal settlement in Endicott were rushed to local medical facilities after allegedly consuming expired food stuff on Thursday morning.
According to Springs SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Themba Tshabalala, the children allegedly bought chips, sweets and biscuits from various foreign-owned spaza shops around the area.
“While they were at school, it is alleged they started complaining of nausea, stomach cramps, and with some vomiting,” said Tshabalala.
Sixteen were rushed to Endicott Clinic, where their condition was monitored.
During monitoring, three had to be transferred to Heidelberg Hospital.
“As the day progressed, the number of children taken to the hospital had risen by 11.”
The other sixteen were taken to the Far East Rand Hospital, where they were treated and discharged.
A parent of one of the learners, Ntombifuthi Khambule, told the Advertiser that prior to receiving a phone call from her son’s school, she was also sick.
Khambule says on Thursday morning she consumed the biscuits with her son before he left for school.
She recalls that after her son had left, she started experiencing abdominal cramps and decided to go to the clinic.
“While I was waiting to be attended to, I received a call from the school notifying me that my son had suddenly fallen ill. They told me that he and other learners had similar symptoms, which, to my surprise, were the same that I was experiencing,” she added.
Khambule described the pains as ‘excruciating’.
“I couldn’t make out how I was feeling because, for a while, I thought I was going to die. I felt my rib cage closing down on me to a point where I felt I was losing breath,” she recalled.
Khambule says that when her son arrived at the clinic, she had to prioritise his condition as she feared that he might not make it.
“It was a very traumatic thing to see my child in that state. I don’t wish this ordeal on any parent,” she said.
Tshabalala said law enforcement stakeholders were deployed to the area to inspect the spaza shops after the community mobilising efforts to approach the shops.
“We confiscated expired and counterfeit goods from the shops,” said Tshabalala.
He added that the community of Kwazenzele demanded that foreign-owned spaza shops remove their stock and stop operating within 48 hours.
Meanwhile, on the same day, learners from Geluksdal Primereskool also fell sick after allegedly eating snacks and chocolate they bought from local tuckshops.
A parent Dimakatso Moroe said she was called to the school after her daughter and other learners fell sick.
