Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa addressed South Africans on Friday, 15 November, on the rise in reported cases of food-borne illnesses and deaths. A number of people became severely ill and even died after eating contaminated food. Following is an extract of the president’s speech, containing vital information:
Illegal pesticides in use
It was established that the death of six children could directly be attributed to a highly hazardous chemical used as a pesticide known as Terbufos. Terbufos is a chemical registered for agricultural use. It is not allowed to be sold for general household use.
However, it is informally sold as a “street pesticide” for domestic use in townships and informal settlements to control rats.
After stringent testing, a chip packet found on one of the children who had died had traces of Terbufos on both the inside and the outside of the packet.
Rat infestation
One of the reasons people use pesticides is to deal with a rat infestation. This infestation is due in part to poor waste management in several municipalities.
Rubbish is not collected regularly and streets are not being cleaned, creating conditions for rats and other pests to thrive.
Addressing contributing factors
- First intervention: Get hazardous pesticides off the street.
- Second intervention: The Department of Basic Education will issue a circular to provincial departments and schools on best practice protocols for preventing and managing foodborne illnesses within schools.
- Third intervention: Prevent future outbreaks.
Local municipalities will be required to take urgent action to address the problem of rat infestations by cleaning cities and towns, and removing waste.
All municipal landfill sites will be required to comply with the National Environmental Management Waste Act.
