The Gauteng government says businesses that missed the registration window will be closed down. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
Food-handling facilities that have not registered their businesses by the end of Friday’s deadline, and who fail to comply with health and safety regulations, risk arrests, fines and closures, the government said.
Friday is the final day for owners of spaza shops and other food-handling outlets to register their businesses, after the government extended the initial deadline of 17 December 2024.
In December, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced measures to regulate businesses that sell food after the deaths of about 20 children who consumed contaminated products. The measures included the immediate closure of a spaza shop in Naledi, Soweto, said to have been the source of food contaminated with a pesticide called Terbufos which killed six children.
A statement from the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) said that, after discussions within the inter-ministerial committee on food-borne illnesses and illicit goods, it was decided that there would be no further extensions of the deadline “as ample time was given to business owners to comply with the presidential directive”.
Natjoints is the operational arm of the justice, crime prevention and security cluster of government departments, tasked with coordinating swift and effective responses to issues relating to national security.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosi Hlabisa and members of the inter-ministerial committee said there had been progress in implementing measures to ensure that food-handling outlets were compliant and followed regulations.
“To obtain a licence or a permit to trade, business owners must comply with all health regulations and municipal by-laws related with conducting a business. Where business owners are found to be non-compliant, the law will be enforced and this includes fines, arrests and closures as applicable,” the statement said.
Other measures implemented by the government to limit children’s exposure to harmful products include classifying certain pesticides and insecticides as “dangerous objects” that may not be brought to, or used on, school premises. In addition, a clean-up campaign was conducted in Johannesburg to reduce rat infestations to cut down on the use of pesticides.
Natjoints said it would continue enforcing regulations to ensure compliance with the law and could clamp down on “warehouses and other establishments that unlawfully stock hazardous chemicals, banned substances and pesticides”.