Raid of dodgy Cape Town sausage facility sparks call for rigorous spaza, factory food safety checks

The City of Cape Town and Crime Intelligence recently raided an unlicensed food manufacturing operation in Mfuleni. (Photo: JP Smith / Facebook)

By Siyabonga Goni

14 Nov 2024

A community leader has appealed for regular checks of food in shops and factories following the City of Cape Town’s raid on a facility that was processing and packaging sausages in unhygienic conditions at a residential property in Mfuleni. This follows a suspected food poisoning scare last week in which 20 pupils from Mfuleni were taken to hospital after complaining about stomach cramps.

As fears of food poisoning grow, food safety issues are cropping up in the Western Cape after the City of Cape Town and South African Police Service raided an unlicensed food manufacturing operation at a residential property in the Mfuleni area.

On Wednesday, 13 November 2024, City law enforcement with health staff and the police discovered sausage being processed and packaged in unsanitary conditions in Mfuleni.

Photos from the factory show large bowls of sausages on the floor in a small room, and other sausages stuffed in plastic.

Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said the facility was processing and packaging sausages in unhygienic conditions, posing a significant health risk to consumers.

“Environmental health inspectors detected this, and activated our staff to go and do this raid with them. [We found] somebody packaging and preparing food in completely unsanitary conditions, which food should not be prepared at all,” Smith said.

Five foreigners have been arrested, Smith confirmed. Law enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason said these “persons were arrested by Law Enforcement in terms of the Immigration Act, and the Food Act”.

In a statement on Friday, Councillor Patricia van der Ross, Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, confirmed that the inspection of the premises - following a tipoff from the public - uncovered a makeshift butchery attached to a residential property.

"It is worth noting that the premises in question is situated in a residential area. It is not listed nor identified as a business, and if not for the whistle-blower, our EHPs would not have had cause to conduct an inspection," she said.

"Environmental Health Practitioners took meat samples from the premises for chemical analysis to test the levels and type of additives in the sausage."

A fine was issued in terms of health legislation, and the case will be prepared for court in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act," said Van der Ross.

She said that in the past year, 39 premises have been shut down by City Health amid food safety concerns during the course of its operations.

sausage Mfuleni Inside the Mfuleni factory. (Photo: JP Smith / Facebook)

Mfuleni Community Policing Forum member France Mashaba said: “This is unsafe for us as residents and it surprised us. As a community we need to regularly check shops and these factories because they are selling unsafe food. We hear that children also consume chips that are old and it does not sit well with us as a community.

“We need to work together with SAPS and health expects. We are calling for every two or three months to do regular checks of food in shops and factories in communities. We no longer trust spaza shops.”

Visits to business premises

Van der Ross told Daily Maverick that environmental health practitioners are mandated to visit business premises twice a year, or more often if issues or complaints arise. “The City works to encourage all food premises to keep hygiene and health-related factors top of mind, and to ensure compliance, in the interest of public safety. All food premises must be in possession of a valid Certificate of Acceptability,” she said.

Fears of food poisoning

Last week, on 7 November, fears of food poisoning emerged after 20 Mzamomtsha Primary School pupils in Driftsands, Mfuleni, were taken to Khayelitsha District Hospital after complaining of stomach cramps.

According to EWN, the pupils have all been discharged from a clinic and some have returned to school.

sausage raid The City of Cape Town raided an unlicensed food manufacturing operation in Mfuleni. (Photo: JP Smith / Facebook)

Food poisoning has led to more than 10 children dying across South African provinces over the past two months. Recently Daily Maverick reported that two one-year-olds and a four-year-old died after eating Top Score Instant Maize Porridge.

Read more: Top Score Instant Porridge recalled nationally after three children die in Eastern Cape

In Soweto, police have initiated inquest dockets after five children in Naledi died allegedly after eating snacks from a local spaza shop. The deaths sparked outrage, with some residents calling for the closure of foreign-owned shops in the area.

Read more: Soweto family seeking answers after toxicology report clears spaza shop of link to boys’ deaths

Also in Gauteng, in October, four-year-old Neo Khang and his friend Leon Jele (6) died after eating biscuits bought at a store in Naledi. His family has expressed shock at the outcome of a toxicology report on food they believed caused his death.

National address

President Cyril Ramaphosa is to address the nation this week on the recent deaths of children from food poisoning.

According to City Press, the government is treating the issue as a national security threat, with the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure taking the lead in the response to the crisis.

“The Cabinet was briefed on the food-borne illnesses and fatalities recorded in various parts of the country, which have led to the tragic deaths of children and resulted in several hospitalisations in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State,” said Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. DM

This article was updated on Friday 15 November at 3pm to include the latest update from the city of Cape Town.

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Visits to business premises

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National address