Ramaphosa’s plans to deal with food contamination

By Amy Musgrave

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a number of measures to deal with the food contamination crisis in the country that has claimed the lives of 22 children in the last few weeks.

While spaza shops owned by foreign nationals have been blamed for being behind the deaths and 890 reported incidents of food-borne illnesses across the country since September, the president has warned against misinformation.

“The investigations that have taken place do not suggest any deliberate campaign to poison children in our country. There is also no evidence that the problem is confined to spaza shops owned by foreign nationals only,” he said while briefing the nation.

“These products are just as likely to be sold in shops owned by South Africans.”

Ramaphosa said that the Cabinet has met on three occasions to receive reports from multi-disciplinary teams.

They include SAPS detectives, health officials, environmental inspectors, and