23 Children Dead From Eating Suspected Contaminated Food, New By-Laws in Gauteng for Spaza Shops

• Premier Panyaza Lesufi provided an update on suspected contaminated food cases in spaza shops in Gauteng
• The premier confirmed that 23 children had died from such cases since the start of the year
• Owners of spaza shops in Gauteng will have to re-register their businesses as per the by-laws

GAUTENG — 23 children have died since the start of the year from eating alleged contaminated food. The statistic is according to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who provided an update on the recent crisis plaguing the province and the entire country.

Lesufi added that 441 food contamination cases were also reported, many of which involved children purchasing snacks from spaza shops or vendors outside schools.

Lesufi confirms 7 deaths from organophosphate poisoning

While the government is waiting for results from some cases, Lesufi confirmed that some had passed away from consuming organophosphate. The chemical, often used for agricultural purposes, is lethal. Lesufi said:

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“Seven postmortem results out of the 19 deaths tested positive for organophosphate.”

Government to launch by-laws

With new cases being reported almost daily, the government is now gazetting new by-laws to regulate the operation of spaza shops.

The Cooperative Governance Department said that the new by-laws, which all councils will adopt, detail how spaza shops should operate.

The by-laws focus on the standards expected of spaza shops and the penalties that will be incurred for contravening the by-law. Spaza shop owners in Gauteng will also be forced to re-register their businesses.

A municipal official will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing the by-law. This person will regularly work with Home Affairs, the Department of Health, and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to ensure compliance.

Calls for State of Emergency

A non-governmental organisation, Not In My Name International, has called on the government to declare a State of Emergency regarding spaza shops.

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Advocate Thuli Madonsela warns against closing spaza shops

The organisation also called on South Africans to peacefully help foreign spaza shop owners pack up and leave. The organisation said:

"This will not only save lives, but it will also return back the township economy to its rightful owners."

Toxicologist warns against keeping hazardous chemicals

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a toxicologist warned against keeping hazardous chemicals at home near food items.

This came after Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi stated that the children who died in Naledi, Soweto, after consuming food from a spaza shop, had been poisoned by pesticides.

The toxicologist revealed that food vendors confessed to keeping pesticides near the food they sell.

Source: Briefly News