NCC descends on Naledi amid rise in food poisonings
The National Consumer Commission has been conducting a series of inspections in Soweto following the recent rise in food poisoning incidents at schools.
Six schoolchildren died from suspected food poisoning after eating snacks bought at a local spaza shop in the Naledi area of Soweto.
The commission’s spokesperson, Phetho Ntaba, said the inspections sought to ensure compliance with the Consumer Protection Act and other applicable laws.
"In Soweto, the NCC joined forces with the Department of Home Affairs, the Health and Environmental Inspectors from the City of Johannesburg, South African Police Services, and the Gauteng Office of Consumer Affairs.”
Ntaba said the commission discovered non-compliance with date markings past sell-by or use-by/expiry date requirements, some goods not labelled, and goods labelled in foreign languages with unclear or no information on ingredients.
"The items found non-compliant include baby food, sweets, cool drinks, noodles, snacks, biscuits, juices, and other consumables. The sale of these items has the potential to cause harm and compromise the health of consumers.
"Section 55 of the CPA, in particular, provides that every consumer has a right to goods that are of good quality, safe, and comply with applicable standards or any other public regulations.
"Where goods are not safe and pose a risk to consumers, the NCC can instruct the supplier to recall the safe goods and further investigate."
Ntaba warned that suppliers found to be in contravention of the CPA could be referred to the National Consumer Tribunal for prosecution and face an administrative penalty of up to R1 million or 10% of the supplier’s turnover.
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