Health crackdown on Korsten food outlets
Unlabelled meat, expired goods and filthy kitchens were just some of the discoveries made by Nelson Mandela Bay public health officials in Korsten during a food safety operation yesterday.
The operation was led by public health portfolio head Lance Grootboom and deputy environmental health director Dr Patrick Nodwele, with nine shops shut down for violating bylaws.
“Shops have to comply if they want to do business, especially those selling food,” Grootboom said.
“It’s important for [the] municipality to be vigilant.
“The shops we visited were in contravention of our bylaws.
“We also issued fines and we’ve given them seven-day notices,” Grootboom said.
Nodwele said there was a risk of possible listeriosis and other food-related outbreaks.
“We’re checking food preparation facilities because if [food is] not prepared properly, it could lead to sickness and these shops must have a operation certificate [from] the municipality,” he said.
Nodwele said even though the listeriosis outbreak in Port Elizabeth was not severe, the city had a number of reported cases. During the operation, numerous shops in Durban Road were inspected.
Most lacked the required municipal certificate of compliance.
While officials were on site, spectators soon filled the street, some people shouting that the shops were selling dog meat.
Discount Supermarket, on the corner of Durban Road and Cottrell Street, was closed due to non-compliance as it failed to produce a certificate of acceptability which allows shops to sell food to the public.
Tanda Bantu Butchery failed to produce an operating certificate, and none of its meat was labelled to indicate what animal it came from.
The man at the counter would not comment.
Informal trader Thandeka Ngwindu, who sells Russian sausages and livers, also had no operating licence.