Residents cautioned on spaza shop purchases, here’s why

Residents of the City of Ekurhuleni have been cautioned to exercise vigilance when purchasing items from spaza shops. Due to a concerning series of incidents.

At least six children have tragically lost their lives. Several others have been hospitalised nationwide, allegedly after consuming expired or counterfeit goods from spaza shops and street hawkers.

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The City of Ekurhuleni is taking action, stating, “The City’s Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) have intensified food hygiene and safety inspections at food handling premises to stop the practice.”

They urge the public to buy from places holding a “Certificate of Acceptability,” issued only after meeting food safety standards.

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THE CITY PROVIDES GUIDANCE ON IDENTIFYING FRESH FOOD FROM SPAZA SHOPS

• Date of minimum durability (“Best Before” or “Best Before End”) means the date which signifies the end of the period under any stated storage condition during which the product will remain fully marketable and will retain any specific qualities for which claims have been made. Beyond the date the food may still be perfectly satisfactory. It further serves the purpose of assisting shop owners regarding stock rotation of products on the shelf.  In other words, to apply the FIFO (“first-in first-out”) principle. These foodstuffs do not require to be removed from the shelves and can be sold for human consumption.
• “Sell by or “display until” means the last day of offer for sale to the consumer after which there remains a reasonable storage period at home. The food that has past the sell by or display until date must be removed from the shelves and must not be sold for human consumption to the public.
• “Use By” (Best Consumed Before, recommended last consumption Date, Expiry Date) means the date which signifies the end of the estimated period under the stated storage conditions after which the product probably will not have the quality attributes normally expected by the consumers and after which date the food should not be regarded as marketable. These foodstuffs must be removed from the shelves and must not be sold for human consumption to the public.

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Certain products are exempt, such as some alcohol, chewing gum, untreated fruits, and vegetables.

Residents are urged to report spaza shops selling expired or counterfeit products to Ekurhuleni’s environmental health offices.

ALSO READ: Spaza shops placed under scrutiny for compliance by Metro

IMPERSONATING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PRACTITIONERS IS DISCOURAGED

However, impersonating Environmental Health Practitioners is discouraged, as per the Health Professions Act.

“No person shall perform any act deemed to be an act pertaining to any registerable health profession, such as environmental health profession,” said the City.

This warning underscores importance of public awareness and collaboration with health authorities to ensure the safety of consumables in the community.

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