Skip to main content

No 'fake food' found after inspections at 470 shops in SA

| Supplier news

No “fake food” has been found by the health department after countrywide inspections of more than 400 small shops.

“There is no plastic rice or bread that won’t dissolve in water‚” health minister Aaron Motsoaledi said at a press conference in Johannesburg on Monday.

"Since the saga started‚ nobody has presented a single foodstuff that is fake‚" he said.

Motsoaledi also explained that food after its “best-before date is not expired food” and could be eaten.

“It is usually dry or tinned food.”

Following many videos on social media‚ including pictures of black liquid manufactured in a dark room and placed in Coca-Cola bottles‚ the national health department asked municipal health inspectors to check spaza shops countrywide for counterfeit or rotten food.

Environmental health practitioners (health inspectors) visited more than 470 small shops.

More than 100 shops were closed because the owners did not have the necessary legal documents to run them‚ while others were in areas not designated for commercial purposes. Others were run by immigrants who were not in the country legally and were thus arrested.

One store in Tshwane had items that were counterfeit - real food‚ but claiming to be a brand it was not.

Two factories were found making counterfeit goods. One was making spices and labelling them Roberstons‚ while another was bottling tap water and using Valpre labels. These have been shut.

Motsoaledi said he had been sent photos of children with ulcers and sores on their faces from allegedly eating rotten food. He said not one clinic or hospital had reported such patients.

People who had genuine information about food that was fake or unhygienic manufacturing facilities should contact the health department on 011 386 2003 to report it‚ he said.




Pin It

Related Articles

By: Daily Investor  Ramokgopa referred to South African municipalities owing Eskom R78 billion, which is increasing at an alarming rate.
By: Se-Anne Rail - IOL Knorr is recalling its brown onion gravy sachets after manufacturers have discovered some packets may contain traces of cow’s milk and soy.
By: Bianke Neethling – Daily Investor Eskom has done a tremendous job of limiting unplanned outages and improving the performance of its coal fleet, which bodes well for load-shedding in South Africa going forward.
By: Shaun Jacobs – Daily Investor In June, the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of Coronation in its legal battle against SARS regarding the profits earned by its Irish-based subsidiary, Coronation Global Fund Managers (CGFM). 
By: Myles Illidge – My Broadband Eskom is cracking down on corruption surrounding its operations and service providers, and using new technologies and systems to minimise opportunities for criminal activity.