By Johnathan Paoli
The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng has highlighted the inadequate number of health inspectors operating in each municipality as one of the reasons for the increase in food contamination cases.
DA economic development spokesperson Nazley Sharif said on Monday that over 16,420 formal food establishments were found to be non-compliant with food safety regulations since 2020.
“Given the high number of formal food establishments that are not compliant with food safety regulations it is clear that there is a need for more health inspectors in the province,” Sharif said in a statement.
She said there were 423 cases of food poisoning over the last four years and 23 people had died in the last two years.
The figures were provided by health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko during a recent sitting of the provincial legislature.
Sharif said it was clear that stricter food protocols were needed.
She said her party has already tabled questions for the cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Jacob Mamabolo to determine how many health inspectors there were for each municipality and how many posts were open.
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