Buffalo City Metro’s recent parading of a group of health and safety inspectors has sparked a huge debate. These officers play a huge role in ensuring that food sold in spaza shops and small eateries, or served in school kitchens, meet basic hygiene and safety standards. Earlier this year the city closed 600 spaza shops for non-compliance.
In its database it had 1,455 registered spaza shops. However, it is believed that many more unregistered outlets were operating. That creates a fertile ground for foodborne illnesses, especially among the poorest, who rely on these shops for daily meals.
Given the magnitude of the work at hand for inspectors, it is an indictment that attention has shifted to an argument about the staff complement. Employees in the safety inspectorate and opposition parties insist that BCM does not have enough inspectors. One source claimed the department needed 800 people, yet, for now, there are only less than 50 personnel.
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The city refutes these figures as it maintains that all departments responsible for compliance, enforcement and public safety are “adequately staffed and fully capable of executing their duties throughout the year, including during the festive season”. Whatever it is, we must not lose sight of the fact that food is not a luxury — it is a basic human need. Far too many people in our city rely on informal shops and school kitchens for their daily meals.
If indeed the metro has a shortage of inspectors, soon we may pay the heavy price in illness and even lives. For the sake of public health and dignity, BCM must go beyond rhetoric. If they have adequate staff we will see that through the amount of work done on the ground. As a country, we’ve already seen the consequences of non-compliant shops selling expired or improperly stored food with allegations of contaminated products sold to children, and schools whose kitchens fail to meet safety standards.
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