Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka addressed the media on Friday, where she released preliminary findings of a systemic investigation into food safety failures at informal food outlets.
The Public Protector has found evidence suggesting that Gauteng municipalities are failing to adequately enforce food safety and hygiene regulations at spaza shops and other informal food outlets, raising concerns about public health following a series of child deaths linked to suspected food poisoning incidents.
Releasing a Section 7(9) notice on Friday as part of a systemic investigation into food safety compliance, Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka said the probe was launched after several schoolchildren died and others fell ill after consuming food products purchased from informal traders.
“It is crucial, considering that it was widely reported, it is a matter where we actually lost lives as a country, which included the lives of children,” Gcaleka said.
“We considered that this is a matter that required a systemic approach rather than an approach to just the individual incidents.”
