The Gauteng Office of Consumer Affairs (GOCA) is saddened by the death of five children in Naledi, Soweto, after they allegedly consumed contaminated snacks that they bought at a local spaza shop. Another child is in a critical condition in hospital where they are receiving medical treatment.
On Tuesday, 8 October, GOCA officials visited the affected spaza shop, but could not do much as the police had cordoned off the premises for further investigation. While some shops in the neighbourhood have since been shut down by the community, the cause of death is yet to be established and an investigation is currently underway. GOCA pleads for calm and urges the community to allow the investigation to take its course.
GOCA also expresses concern about the sale of sub-standard foodstuff in our communities as they put the health and lives of consumers at risk. It is for this reason that the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, of which GOCA is a unit, launched the Qondis’ Ishishini Lakho — Fix Your Business compliance campaign in Thembisa last month to encourage businesses to comply with consumer laws and regulations. This ongoing multi-stakeholder compliance campaign ensures that all possible areas of non-compliance are monitored. Compliance notices are issued and fines are levied against businesses that are found to be violating consumer laws and health regulations.
The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) protects consumers against purchasing and/or consuming expired goods. “According to the CPA, consumers have a right to product labelling and trade description, which prohibits suppliers from selling expired goods to consumers, or tampering with the expiry/best-before dates to mislead consumers,” says Ms Milly Viljoen, Director: Consumer Education, Awareness and Stakeholder Relations.
Reporting food safety in your community
Consumers are cautioned not to buy or eat products that are not clearly labelled. For example, if there are no date markings, manufacturer contact details, name and/or address visible on the packaging, you can report them to GOCA at 011 355 8006 or email consumer@gauteng.gov.za.
Consumers are urged to report immediately should they suspect safety issues in the food being sold in their neighbourhood. If consumers suspect that the food they consumed was not in a condition to be sold or consumed, they should report the matter to environmental health practitioners (Municipal Health Services) at their nearest municipality for food testing. The matter should also be escalated to the GOCA so that compliance monitoring inspections can be conducted in that area, in collaboration with law enforcement and the National Consumer Commission (NCC) to proactively investigate the matters and penalise those who contravene consumer protection laws.
Your rights
The CPA is clear that suppliers are liable for harm caused to consumers by supplying unsafe or defective foodstuffs. Suppliers must provide food of good quality, that is in good condition and free from any defects. Consumers should demand quality by returning to the supplier goods or foodstuff if there are defects to avoid health risks.
Notes for editors and journalists
GOCA is part of the Food Control Forum comprising the Gauteng Department of Health, Municipal Health Services, Department of Agriculture, National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications, Border Management Agency, academia and other bodies dealing with food safety. The Forum conducts proactive education and compliance monitoring inspections in the whole of the Gauteng Province to ensure that suppliers do not make expired goods available to consumers. However, in some areas GOCA is alerted by consumers through complains regarding the sales of expired goods, adds Viljoen.
For more information or interviews, kindly contact Ms Viljoen on 082 925 8886
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Issued by the Gauteng Department of Economic Development
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