Spar’s shame for below-par chicken

Anthony Perie makes a very important point in his letter “Check all chickens extensively”. He is quite right to question the “risk-based checking protocol” that the state employs to check chicken imports for bacterial risks, including potentially life-threatening salmonella.

The health risks of improperly handled imported chicken is a disaster waiting to happen. Due to the seemingly unstoppable wave of dumped chicken portions from especially Brazil, (which has been implicated in several food safety scandals), but also the EU and the US, about 30% of the South African chicken market is currently captured by imports.

This is a massive volume of chicken and the question, as Mr Perie asks, is whether it is possible for the department of health to inspect every single consignment that enters our ports.

But there is another, more insidious, problem. We believe that some importers thaw out the chicken that lands here, then repackage and refreeze it before offering it for sale, particularly targeting the poor, who don’t have the luxury of choice.

Is the cold chain that is essential for food safety maintained? These bags often don’t comply with regulations, the source of the chicken is untraceable and there is no way of knowing how high the bacterial risks are.

FairPlay received shocking photos of chicken for sale in Spar in Kosi Bay and they tell the story of risk better than any words can. Shame on you, Spar. Shame on your importers, too! South African consumers deserve better. It is time we stood up and demanded that. Francois Baird, founder, FairPlay