Food poisoning: South Africa shops given more time to register

South African convenience store owners, known locally as spaza shops, now have a reprieve in the race to submit their business registration forms following a spate of deadly food poisoning incidents that killed over 20 children.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has clarified that the deadline for spaza shop registration is actually next Tuesday, not tomorrow (December 13) as previously thought.

This update comes as a relief to some spaza owners who had reported a difficult registration process, citing bureaucratic hurdles within municipalities as a major challenge, state broadcaster SABC reports.

The mandatory registration directive was issued by President Cyril Ramaphosa on November 15 after the deaths of at least 23 children who became ill from eating contaminated food allegedly bought in spaza shops.

'National disaster'

Ramaphosa, who classified foodborne illnesses as a "national disaster," ordered that all spaza shops and food-handling facilities must be registered for health and safety purposes with their respective municipalities within 21 days.

Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa apologised for the confusion in the deadline dates on Thursday.

“The President made the announcement on Friday evening, and the first working day was Monday of that following week, and then Monday next week, the 16th, is a public holiday; you can’t count it; 21 days therefore lapses on Tuesday,” Hlabisa clarified.

As the deadline date looms, the government, in a statement on Wednesday, said a total of 13,616 registration forms have been issued to local and foreign owners across Gauteng province.

High mortality rate

In April, authorities referred to the rising number of foodborne illnesses in Gauteng as "alarming."

Over 400 cases were reported, with over 20 children dying between April and October.

Gauteng Finance and Economic Development Member of Executive Council, Lebogang Maile, however, said 1,916 registration forms were returned because they were incomplete or missing critical supporting documents.

“The registration process has been simplified to ensure that business owners are not consumed in red tape while simultaneously ensuring that compliance is achieved,” Maile said.

As the Friday deadline looms, authorities said, “Nearly 200,000 spaza shops have been visited. More than 1,000 spaza shops, supermarkets, and warehouses have been closed down. Large quantities of goods have been confiscated, and numerous fines have been issued for violations of by-laws.”

Shop compliance

Over 500 spaza shops have so far been closed for noncompliance, authorities said on Wednesday.

Authorities said the raft of measures includes the immediate closure of implicated shops found by authorities to have sold contaminated food items.

Non-compliant businesses include those without Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) registration, which is a legal requirement for operating a business in South Africa.

“Other issues of non-compliance include a lack of certificates of acceptability or comment from Environmental Health and non-payment of operating licenses that are obtained from municipalities. Businesses operating from unsafe premises and within a hazardous environment have also been closed for non-compliance,” Maile explained.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says teams of multidisciplinary inspectors will conduct compliance checks on food handling facilities, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, including spaza shops and general dealers, after the deadline date.

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