Spaza Shop Blitz held in Great Brak River
Members of Mossel Bay Municipality’s Law Enforcement department took part in an operation, called the Spaza Shop Blitz, on 17 April in Great Brak River.
Other partners in the joint operation included Garden Route District Municipality’s (GRDM) Environmental Health practitioners (EHP), the Department of Home Affairs, Police Border Patrol Unit and the police.
During inspections, the Spaza Shop Blitz seeks to determine if legislative requirements are met in terms of shops having a valid Certificate of Acceptability in terms of regulation 638, promulgated under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectant Act, 1972 (Act 54 of 1972).
During the operations it is also ascertained if a business licence for food premises is in place and what the state of the general hygiene is.
A vital part of the inspection is checking the labelling of foodstuffs.
Removed
The team inspected shops for expired products and those that were past their sell-by date were removed. After completing the inspections, the Garden Route District Municipality sends notices to premises that do not comply with the requirements, giving clear instructions to spaza shop owners on their shortfalls.
Marko Claassen, the superintendent of
Mossel Bay municipal Tactical Response and By-law Enforcement, who participated in the blitz, confirmed that these operations are conducted on a weekly basis to ensure compliance with all the requirements.
Compliance makes a vital contribution to the health and safety of the communities to whom shops sell products, the municipality noted in a statement.
Shops that have expired food items that must be disposed of are urged to contact the Mossel Bay municipal Waste Management Department (044 606 5151) for more information on the correct waste disposal process.
For more information, contact the GRDM sub-office (044 693 0006 or 061 445 1932).