Food poisoning incidents spark concern in South Africa

Johannesburg : Following a rise in food poisoning cases among children, the Gauteng Executive Council urged the South African government to declare the widespread cases of suspected food poisoning a disaster.

In a telephone interview with Xinhua, Sizwe Pamla, spokesperson for Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, confirmed their plan to request the national government to declare this a disaster, saying that members of the executive council and government officials would be meeting to address the food poisoning issue.

"Discussions with various government structures and the community were ongoing to stem the tide of food-borne illness," Pamla said, adding that the number of compliance officers deployed in communities to monitor the food sold in tuck shops had been increased, Xinhua news agency reported.

Over the past few months, four provinces in South Africa have been affected by food-borne illnesses. The most-impacted Gauteng Province recorded at least 10 deaths and hundreds hospitalised. In the latest incident reported in Katlehong, Gauteng, Wednesday, 110 primary school students were rushed to the hospital after experiencing stomach cramps and vomiting after eating samp, a dish made from dried corn kernels, at school, according to the provincial education department.

The deaths of children prompted the South African government to announce a coordinated investigation to look into the causes behind these cases.

On Monday, Nomonde Mnukwa, the acting government spokesperson at the national level, announced the launch of investigations in multiple provinces following reports that the children had consumed contaminated food.

"The government is coordinating comprehensive investigations in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, and has adopted an integrated approach which is being replicated across all provinces," Mnukwa said, adding the investigation teams comprise experts from various departments, including the National Consumer Commission and the South African Police Service.