Govt will only pursue legal action against spaza shops if they're directly linked to child deaths - Motsoaledi

JOHANNESBURG - Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that government would only pursue legal action against spaza shops if they were directly linked to the deaths of children across the country. 
 
Although a toxic chemical believed to be behind these deaths was found in three spaza shops in Soweto, Motsoaledi said there was currently no evidence that the children came into contact with it at those shops.
 
Between the beginning of October and 15 November 2024, 22 children died from food poisoning in various parts of the country.

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An inter-ministerial team addressing these incidents provided an update on the government's plan of action in Pretoria on Thursday.

After five children in Naledi died in October from eating snacks purchased at a spaza shop, a team of health inspectors was dispatched to raid all shops in the area. 
 
A total of 84 shops were thoroughly inspected, with only three testing positive for traces of the toxic chemical.
 
Motsoaledi said while the three spaza shops would be permanently shut down, there were no grounds to pursue legal action against them at this stage.
 
"It was found that there was terbufos in those spaza shops on the counter, but we can’t link it to any death until police or detectives are able to ascertain that the dead children actually bought food there. Otherwise, legally you are not proving anything."
 
The government said that since September, over 890 incidents of foodborne illnesses had been reported across the country.