More than 20 people are believed to have died in one South African province after consuming food from local shops. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the majority of deaths have been children aged between six and nine. “The first uniform approach across the province was to adopt a mechanism of reporting because we have so many deaths that are taking place that we want to isolate those that are foodborne and those that need our immediate attention,” he said.
“The Department of Health has been given that task. They’ve given us their preliminary report, and in that report, they’ve indicated the deaths that have been registered thus far. We can confirm that we are at 23 [deaths], which is a sad thing.
” Action being taken At least 441 cases of food poisoning have been reported in the province so far this year. Many incidents occurred around schools, with the rest occurring within the community. Lesufi, members of the Executive Council, and mayors met recently to discuss the situation.
Lesufi introduced new by-laws in response to the food poisoning cases associated with spaza shops. These sites are also called tuck shops and are informal grocery stores. “We all agreed that addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach involving stricter regulations, better enforcement of existing laws, and increased public awareness about the potential dangers associated with purchasing from unregulated spaza shops and informal traders.
” The by-laws explain how to regis.
