South Africa records food poisoning death despite spaza registration order

A child from Mahikeng, Northwest Province, South Africa, has died after eating suspected contaminated snacks from a Spaza shop last Friday.

State media SABC reports the child and her sister bought snacks from the shop next to their school at Ramosadi Village.

They subsequently complained about stomach cramps when they arrived at school.

A relative told SABC the other child has been admitted to hospital and remains in critical condition.

Unanswered questions

“We still have questions that we can’t answer because now the children are sick. One has passed on, one is in ICU,” said the relative, who did not want to be named.

Provincial police spokesperson Adel Myburg also confirmed the death of the learner, saying they were immediately taken to hospital after complaining of stomach pain.

“Two girls got sick at a local school; one is eight years old and the other one is ten years old. The school took them to the local clinic; unfortunately, the eight-year-old passed away," Adel Myburg told local media.

“According to the initial information received, the elder sister, who is ten years old, indicated that they bought snacks at the house in Ramosadi village. After eating the snacks, apparently they experienced stomach cramps and aches when they got to school.”

Meanwhile, Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa last Friday visited an eight-year-old boy who has been hospitalised after eating snacks from a spaza shop in Soweto, Johannesburg.

Hlabisa told local media, the child has been admitted to the ICU and that the spaza shop had been closed down by authorities.

Food poisoning cases

South Africa has been hit by a series of food poisoning incidents since last year that has killed atleast 20 and affected over 400, with a majority of them children.

Last November Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced that the province recorded 441 instances of food poisoning.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa made an official declaration on November 15 that made it mandatory for all spaza shops and food handling facilities to register with the municipalities where they are located within 21 days.

“The step that we need to embark on now is to reinforce the implementation that every Spaza shop that did not go through the process, its doors should not be open,” Minister Hlabisa says.

He also urged South Africans to stop aiding undocumented migrants who operate spaza shops.