Strengthening food safety: South Africa’s new strategies against foodborne illness

Durban — The National Department of Health has convened a multi-stakeholder meeting to address food safety concerns and implement new strategies for prevention.

This follows a spate of food poisoning incidents which have resulted in fatalities among many pupils and left several others ill.

Details of the multi-stakeholder meeting were revealed in a parliamentary written question by the IFP’s Nqobile Matilda Mhlongo who asked Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi about the plans his department has to ensure food safety for children in South Africa, given warnings that have been issued by health officials in different provinces following a dramatic increase in foodborne illnesses among children that have in some cases resulted in fatalities.

Motsoaledi explained that in responding to a surge of recent events of alleged food poisoning incidents which have resulted in fatalities, especially of school kids, he coordinated a meeting with multiple stakeholders, on October 15.

The stakeholders are the National Department of Health (Environmental Health Chief Directorate), Gauteng Department of Health, City of Johannesburg, South African Police Services, Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD). The National Consumer Commission was later added to this multi-stakeholder group.

He said the meeting aimed to plan and execute a short-term process of establishing the existence and cause of food-related problems.

“To ensure a long-term, multi-sectoral approach in responding and prioritisation at government level, an integrated government plan has been developed by the National Joints Operation and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS). The implementation of this plan is led by the National Department of Health.”

Motsoaledi said the following are the ongoing interventions:

• Strengthened surveillance systems: The department is reinforcing foodborne disease surveillance through improved data collection and monitoring, particularly in vulnerable communities and school feeding programs. This enables early detection and rapid response to outbreaks.
• Public awareness campaigns: Health officials are intensifying public education campaigns to raise awareness about proper food handling, hygiene, and storage practices. These campaigns target households, caregivers, and food vendors, particularly in areas with higher contamination risks.
• Stricter enforcement of food safety regulations: The department is working with local governments to enhance the enforcement of food safety standards in food production, distribution, and retail sectors. This includes regular inspections of food outlets and schools to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations.

• Collaboration with other stakeholders: The department is partnering with other departments, including the Department of Basic Education to ensure that food safety is prioritised in child nutrition programs. This collaboration includes strict oversight of food provided through school feeding schemes and early childhood development centres.
• Rapid response teams: The department has outbreak response teams at the provincial level to investigate and address foodborne illness outbreaks swiftly. These teams conduct investigations into the sources of contamination and implement corrective measures to prevent further cases.
• Municipal audits: The National Department of Health continues to audit municipalities on adherence to environmental health norms and standards for food safety.

Mhlongo also asked Motsoaledi what steps are being taken to create a regulatory framework for the use of artificial intelligence technology in the food safety inspectorate of his department in a manner that will ensure food safety.

In response, Motsoaledi said no steps have been taken to create a regulatory framework to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology in food safety inspections.

“The department provides environmental health norms and standards on health surveillance of premises, which requires that a risk management approach be adopted for inspections, including food premises,” Motsoaledi explained.

“These norms and standards call for premises to be categorised according to the level of risk, based on the types of foodstuffs being handled or sold, handling practices, target population and compliance history. Tools have been provided in this regard.”

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