KNOW THE SAFETY OF THE FOOD YOU BUY AND EAT

The City of Ekurhuleni is intensifying its food hygiene and safety inspections at food handling premises.

In safeguarding resident’s safety, the City’s Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) encourage the public to be vigilant of what they consume. The community should buy foodstuff only sold from premises with a Certificate of Acceptability.

This certificate is only issued after inspections are conducted and the premises meet all food safety requirements. It must be displayed in the shop for all to see or produced on demand.  If not displayed, the consumer has the right to be shown the Certificate of Acceptability for the food premises.

The consumers must take note of the date markings on the products and what they mean.

• Date of minimum durability (“Best Before” or “Best Before End”) means the date which signifies the end of the period under any stated storage condition during which the product will remain fully marketable and will retain any specific qualities for which claims have been made. Beyond the date the food may still be perfectly satisfactory. It further serves the purpose of assisting shop owners regarding stock rotation of products on the shelf.  In other words, to apply the FIFO (“first-in first-out”) principle. These foodstuffs do not require to be removed from the shelves and can be sold for human consumption.
• “Sell by or “display until” means the last day of offer for sale to the consumer after which there remains a reasonable storage period at home. This food must be removed from the shelves and must not be sold for human consumption to the public.
• “Use By” (Best Consumed Before, recommended last consumption Date, Expiry Date) means the date which signifies the end of the estimated period under the stated storage conditions after which the product probably will not have the quality attributes normally expected by the consumers and after which date the food should not be regarded as marketable. These foodstuffs must be removed from the shelves and must not be sold for human consumption to the public.

The following foodstuffs are exempted from date markings:

• Alcoholic beverages described in Liquor Product Act, 1989 (Act 60 of 1989);
• Chewing gum;
• Confectionary products consisting of flavoured and/or coluored sugars;
• Fresh fruit and vegetables which have not been peeled or treated;
• Processed meat products such as biltong and dried sausage;
• Which have not been prepacked;
• Ready-to-eat flour confectionery, provided that the date of manufacture is indicated on the label or in the direct vicinity where the product is displayed;
• Sugars;
• Unprocessed, unpacked fish, unprocessed unpacked meat and poultry which have not been pre-packed;
• Vinegar.

It is a criminal offence to remove or alter any date on the package for sale to the consumer. Foodstuffs that have been tempered with regarding date markings may not be sold for human consumption and these should be reported to the city’s Environmental Health Division.

Foodstuffs with molds, bad smells, discolored, rotten bulged and leaking tin stuffs or cans should not be bought by the public even if prices can be reduced. 

Members of the community are warned to refrain from playing the role of an EHP by inspecting and seizing foodstuff from shops as this is impersonation of a EHPs which is punishable by law.

Residents may lodge their complaints regarding the selling of unsound and unsatisfactory food products at the following Environmental Health offices:

• Boksburg and Vosloorus: (011) 999 5407
• Alberton Head Office: (011) 999 2970
• Tsakane/Duduza: (011) 999 8200
• Kempton Park: (011) 999 6461
• Benoni / Daveyton: (011) 999 6431
• Brakpan: (011) 999 8148
• Springs/ Kwathema: (011) 999 9001
• Nigel: (011) 999 6663
• Edenvale: (011) 999 3335
• Alberton and Germiston: (011) 999 0347/8 or (011) 999 5737 or (011) 999 0530
• Katlehong 1and 2 and Thokoza: (011) 999 2347/8 or (011) 999 2466