Probe into spaza shop pies supply after suspected food poisoning of five-year-old Cape boy
Cape Town - City health inspectors have undertaken an investigation into the supply of frozen pies to a spaza shop in Kensington, after a suspected case of food poisoning affecting a five-year-old child sparked concern.
The incident was reported to ward councillor Cheslyn Steenberg, who visited the shop last week, where the owner was issued with a notice from inspectors as they found several mouldy pies in the fridges.
The child’s grandmother said the boy has been suffering from diarrhoea since consuming one of the pies.
“It started last Saturday when his mother bought him a pie at the shop.
“He ate it and within hours he had loose stools and was vomiting.
“He is autistic and suffers from epilepsy but doesn’t get sick very often, so we were very worried.
“We took him to Red Cross (Hospital) and waited, but they said he must come back the next day.
“At that point, we never suspected it was perhaps the pie he ate, only a few days later, when we bought another one and heated it for him.
“I checked it and that is when I found the mould. I was so angry to think we support these shops.
“My grandson has stopped vomiting but still has loose stools so we are going back to the hospital to ask them to test him for food poisoning,” said the 54-year-old woman who asked not to be named.
Steenberg said after being informed by the resident, he immediately contacted the City’s health inspectors and accompanied them to the shop on Thursday.
“Upon inspecting, it was found that the same branded pies were indeed full of mould whilst in cold storage.
“The pies were removed from the shop and were found to be inedible due to mould observed on the pies.
“City health officials removed the pies and will dispose of such.
“It is understood that the pies were purchased from a supplier in Cape Town. Further inspections are under way to check for compliance.
“Furthermore, I would like to remind the public to be mindful of the labelling of foodstuffs and to ensure that they are stored correctly before purchasing them. It is important to note that mould grows on foodstuff that is temperature sensitive and may have been subjected to temperature abuse during storage and transportation. This may have occurred further up the food chain before the product reached the consumer and may have resulted in the growth of mould on these pies.”
The incident comes amid an investigation by the National Health Department into the deaths of several children after allegedly eating snacks from a spaza shop in Gauteng.
The incident involving 25 learners from Setsing Primary School in Thokoza, Ekurhuleni, on Tuesday, saw the children being rushed to a medical facility and resulted in the deaths of three minors.
Speaking during a press conference last week, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi called for spaza shops to be registered.
He said owners should produce documents to show they are legally in the country and subsequently health officials can then give proper instructions on how food should be handled.
“Every spaza shop must be registered and when you register you must produce documents that you are legally in the country or even if you are South African, show your ID and then from there the Department of Health can show them what are the do’s and don’ts in terms of health. We need a by-law that will be used by all municipalities,” Motsoaledi said.
Dr Zanephyn Keyser, lecturer at the Food Science and Technology Department at CPUT, said the incident in Kensington differs from what was found in Gauteng.
‘’It is different in that in the Gauteng cases there was chemical poisoning where a toxin was added to food items possibly unknowingly.
“In this incident, it appears that the refrigeration of the product could have resulted in spoilage.
“There are many variables to consider with this case, which include the health of the child affected but also it needs to be investigated if the cold chain was disrupted.
“For instance, if the pies were taken from cold storage and transported and what conditions it was transported under need to be looked at. In the Western Cape as the temperatures rise the refrigeration of such food items needs to be adequate.
“You cannot bake a pie today and tomorrow there is mould as fungus takes time to grow.”