Ensure compliance with laws on foodstuffs

THE letter,“Sale of expired food a ticking time bomb” (Cape Times, February 12), refers.

The writer makes a number of points about the sale of foodstuffs and the monitoring of the sector.

In terms of national food regulations, the date marking is there to ensure that the product is still safe and has retained all its food quality properties such as nutrition, taste, colour, texture and compositional standard. Perishables and goods that must be kept within the cold chain may not be sold past the sell-by dates. With regard to shelf-stable goods, an expired item could still be safe to consume if stored under the correct conditions, but the quality value may diminish after the sell-by date.

The main mandate of the City’s environmental health practitioners is food safety, whereas date marking in most foods relates to food quality standards. So although the quality standard may diminish with time, the product may still be perfectly safe to consume.

All businesses, including spaza shops, are bound by the Health Act and Food Regulations, as well as the Business Act (for the sale of prepared foods/takeaways), zoning scheme, building regulations, fire safety legislation and the Tobacco Control Act.

The City’s environmental health practitioners are mandated to conduct visits to business premises and inspections are conducted twice a year, but if problems are identified or complaints are received, then more regular inspections are carried out until the problem is resolved.

Furthermore, they conduct ongoing awareness and education sessions around food safety.

Recently, the City health department launched training sessions for food vendors to ensure compliance with new national regulations. These sessions will be rolled out across the metro to ensure that communities have access to safe food.

Where date markings have been changed, we encourage the public to please report these so that we may follow up and investigate. This practice is not allowed in the legislation.

Members of the public who have health-related concerns or complaints about businesses can contact their local Environmental Health office for assistance through their local clinic, or the City’s Technical Operations Centre on 0860 103 089.

The Environmental Health Department will also assist shop owners in familiarising themselves with regulations and legislation, and advise them how to ensure that they are compliant. COUNCILLOR ZAHID BADROODIEN

Mayoral Committee member: Community Services and Health, COCT