Cape Town - Expired baby formula, poor hygiene including chemicals stored with food were some of the shocking discoveries made during a joint operation at spaza shops on Wednesday in Khayelitsha.

Authorities also did checks for illegal immigrants and made an arrest.

This follows the deadline extension for spaza shops to be registered in the metro by February 28, as they need to be in possession of a Certificate of Acceptability, which are issued by the municipality’s Environmental Health Department to prove compliance with food and safety standards.

Poor hygiene including chemicals stored with food were some of the shocking discoveries made during a joint operation at spaza shops. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers

President Cyril Ramaphosa initially called for all spaza shops in the country to be registered by December 6, 2024, following the deaths of six children in Naledi in the North West due to contaminated food. The country is believed to have around at least 100 000 informal traders in the R178 billion small business industry.

Last month, the City of Cape Town confirmed that a total of nine spaza shops have been closed due to a health prohibition order, while over 6 000 spaza shops have successfully been registered in the Cape Metropole.

The inspectorate team, who on Wednesday carried out the ongoing operation known as “Shanela”, included police, law enforcement, City health and safety officials and Home Affairs officers.

They identified four spaza shops at Monwabisi Park, which is known as Ndlovini (New Khaltsha informal settlement). A total of R7 000 in fines was issued to the spaza shops found to be storing expired baby food, among other items.

Shockingly, 90% of owners were found lacking proper documentation and were not South African citizens.

Of the four shops checked, two illegal immigrants with no proper documentation were found, one of whom was from Somalia and the other, Malawi.

The illegal immigrant from Malawi was advised that he was set to be deported as indicated by Home Affairs officials. The media were invited to be part of the operation and observed how officials checked the dates on food items and inspected the hygiene control and storing of food.

At one shop, a number of tinned goods were damaged and rusted.

Expired food, poor hygiene including chemicals stored with food were some of the shocking discoveries made during a joint operation at spaza shops. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers

Proportional Representative councillor, Bongi Kayi, from the Patriotic Alliance, who joined the operation, said they found a number of expired baby food, the formula expired by 03/12/2023, which is more than 18 months past its best before date, which raised an alarm.

“The focus for today (Wednesday) was Monwabisi Park affectionately known as Ndlovini where four shops were identified and health and safety regulations compliance was verified according to the R638 Food Regulations, which focuses on hygiene and sanitation in food establishments,” Kayi explained.

“The act requires regular cleaning and sanitising of surfaces, equipment, and utensils. It also requires training staff in proper hygiene practices and regular monitoring and testing of surfaces and equipment. The findings were common right across the four shops, expired baby food, unhygienic floors, food directly placed on the floor.

Expired food, poor hygiene including chemicals stored with food were some of the shocking discoveries made during a joint operation at spaza shops. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers

“A cat was found inside the shop. In fact, in some of the shops, chemical products are stored on the same shelves as food products. What we witnessed today is a serious form of being undermined in our own country and we hope that communities can stop buying food from this foreign nationals.”

The Cape Argus approached David Hlabane, spokesperson for Home Affairs, who did not respond to queries about the operation.

The City of Cape Town indicated they would be providing a response at a later stage of the operation.

Cape Argus