Filthy state of Tshwane market

CONCERN: BUYERS AND PRODUCERS SOON TO MEET CITY

Two biggest clients have already reduced their combined spend because of security.

that the fresh produce market is definitely not at an acceptable level of hygiene and cleanliness”.

Jackson said that in the light of the recent listeriosis outbreak, the Tshwane Fresh Produce Market and all other role players should get their houses in order.

The market belongs to the City of Tshwane, which gets 5% of the value of all trade, which could be R250 million to R300 million per month. This means that the city could earn R12.5 to R15 million per month or R150 million to R180 million per year from market operations.

The maintenance budget for this year is R3.9 million and in the previous two financial years the city spent R3.5 million and R4.1 million respectively on maintenance at the market, it said.

Stakeholders who Moneyweb spoke to are also worried about security at the market. They say in the past six months, 15 to 20 vehicles were stolen and that a person was murdered, allegedly in a brawl among drug nyaope users.

Sometimes whole pallets containing up to 20 000 apples, for example, disappear from the cold storage facility, they said. These belong to the producer, who then has to claim from the city through a process fraught with red tape.

There is no access or consignment control and stakeholders agree that a lot of direct sales are taking place, sidestepping the market mechanism and costing the city and market agents their commissions.

They say that the market’s two biggest clients, Food Lovers’ Market and Choppies, have reduced their combined spend from an estimated R38 million per month to about R10 million. They would rather support the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market, which is in a much better state.

According to Jackson, the new regulation, R638, under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act outlines hygiene requirements for food handling establishments. “This regulation now also includes the produce markets where unprocessed produce is sold. It looks like the Tshwane Fresh Produce Market will have to do some additional work to meet these minimum legal standards,” she said.

“New requirements in the regulation now require the establishment of a cleaning programme with cleaning records.”