The West Coast District Municipality (WCDM), in collaboration with Environmental Health students from Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), successfully hosted a Food Safety Training session for local spaza-shop owners in the Bergrivier municipal area recently.
Organised by environmental health practitioners from Bergrivier, the training aimed to enhance hygiene standards, promote compliance with health regulations and equip spaza shop owners with essential knowledge to serve their communities better. The session covered key topics such as food handling, storage and cleanliness practices, all critical for ensuring safer and healthier trade within the informal retail sector.
Dr Suné Henning of the Department of Food Science and Technology at CPUT expressed appreciation of the collaboration, dubbing it a good, successful and insightful initiative. “CPUT would not have been able to do this without your partnership and assistance.”
Surene Grootboom, Senior Manager of Environmental Health Services at WCDM, emphasised the importance of building strong partnerships between municipalities and the private sector to foster safer community environments. “While we play a specific role in ensuring spaza-shop owners comply with food-safety norms and standards we must also remain approachable and accessible when there are uncertainties about legislation. This training session is one of many interventions aimed at raising awareness of our responsibilities and roles within the broader public health framework.”
Participants expressed gratitude, noting they felt more confident in managing their businesses responsibly and safely.
