City inspectors have started cracking the whip on spaza shops and takeaways in Ward 56, where they uncovered fridges being used as bedrooms and vermin in various food outlets.
Covering Maitland, Factreton and Kensington, the team led by ward councillor Cheslyn Steenberg issued fines and temporarily shut down two shops amid serious violations.
Steenberg, who discovered a growing concern in violations committed by shop owners, commenced a project last year already to encourage owners to become compliant with the City of Cape Town’s requirements.
He explains: “Last year, I received complaints about various spaza shops and immediately reached out to the relevant officials about how we can go about tackling the issues of non-compliance.
“At the time, the main issue was the expired foods being sold to the public.”
“So we hosted a series of public meetings with shop owners where they were given the relevant information and encouraged to follow the laws.”
Last Friday, Steenberg again called a meeting, warning shop owners that the inspections were imminent and to make sure they are compliant.
But that fell on deaf ears as they made shocking discoveries just days later.
Steenberg says: “At two of the takeaways, we found some sickening things. At the one outlet, we found that the chicken cutlets they were selling had clear mould on it and even the muffins on sale [were mouldy].
“The rats were basically living with them and the stench smelt like decomposing flesh. The smells were unbearable and the vermin was everywhere.
“Both outlets were found to have no form of pest control and were closed temporarily and given a list of things to correct.”
Steenberg says they also got a moerse skrik when they discovered that a walk-in fridge had been converted into a bedroom.
He adds: “We started this before the 21-day notice issued by the President because we identified the problem some time ago.
“The biggest issue is that all government entities who are in control of ensuring the compliance of these outlets do not have the manpower to ensure inspections are completed.”
Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a notice to spazas saying they had 21 days to become compliant amid a spate of deaths related to food-borne illnesses.
Ramaphosa said it was found that some of the food were bought from spaza shops and street vendors.
“Over the last few weeks alone, food-borne illnesses have claimed the lives of at least 22 of our nation’s children. Last month there was a major food-borne incident in Naledi in Soweto in which six children died. The youngest of these children was just six years old,” Ramaphosa said.
He warned that any shop that is not registered within 21 days and does not meet health standards will be closed.
Earlier this month, inspectors were called to Kensington after a suspected case of food poisoning affecting a five-year-old child who had to be hospitalised.
The mother said her son had eaten a mouldy pie bought from a local winkel.
The store was issued with a compliance notice, said Steenberg.
He adds: “The manufacturer was traced to the Drakenstein Municipal Area and the investigation into where the problem started is still underway.
“A huge possibility exists that the cold-chain was broken and this resulted in the growth of the mould.”