NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO. 1606
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 17 June 2011
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 17)
Mr T D Lee (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:
(1) Whether his department has carried out continuous comprehensive
inspections on all foodstuffs in the (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08, (c)
2008-09, (d) 2009-10 and (e) 2010-11 financial years in order to
ensure their safety and verify that the contents is the same as what
is stated on the packaging; if not, (i) why not and (ii) how does his
department ensure that all food is safe for human consumption and that
products contain what manufacturers claim they contain; if so, (aa)
what process is followed and (bb) how frequently are food products
analysed;
(2) whether his department has found any food products in the (a) 2006-
07, (b) 2007-08, (c) 2008-09, (d) 2009-10 and (e) 2010-11 financial
years (i) to be unsafe and (ii) not containing the exact proportions
of ingredients as advertised; if so, in each case, (aa) which
products, (bb) on what basis did the specified product fail the
comprehensive inspection and (cc) what action was taken against the
specified manufacturer?
NW1808E
REPLY:
(1) No. The Department of Health does not deal directly with the issue of
the inspection of foodstuffs.
The responsibility to carry out continuous, comprehensive inspections
on all foodstuffs in order to ensure their safety is that of the
metro and district municipalities rendering Municipal Health
Services as stipulated in the National Health Act, 2003 (Act 61
of 2003), and dually authorized by the Minister of Health in
terms of Section 23(1) of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and
Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act 54 of 1972). In respect of imported
foodstuffs, the Port Health Services rendered by the nine
Provinces are, inter alia, responsible for dealing with this
matter.
The verification of whether the contents of foodstuffs are the
same as stated on the packaging under the list of ingredients of
pre-packed processed foodstuffs is not part of the inspection
services rendered by the mentioned municipalities. The reasons
for this are:
the exuberant cost associated with the analyses of all the
foodstuffs concerned for this purpose, which will require an
extensive budget currently not available;
the unavailability of laboratory facilities to conduct tests on
the composition of foodstuffs, taking into account the
extensive list of ingredients used in the manufacturing of
all foodstuffs on the shelves in South Africa;
taking note that based on the afore-mentioned reasons, globally
countries, including developed countries, do not include
this aspect in their routine food inspection programmes,
mainly due to the fact that such analyses serves no purpose
related to the food safety aspect of the products concerned;
and,
taking note that the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (DAFF), administer the Agricultural Products
Standards Act, 1990, which provides the relevant Minister
with the authority to regulate, inter alia, quality
standards of food products. These standards relate to the
composition applicable to the classes/grades of certain
categories of food products, for example, milk and dairy
products.
(ii) The technical staff members of the Directorate: Food Control
supports the Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs), rendering
Municipal Health Services and Port Health Services. This support
includes, inter alia, dealing with queries received from EHPs related
to the clarification of the interpretation and application of the
legislation concerned, with specific reference to the contents of the
regulations published under Act 54 of 1972, as well as to present
information sessions to groups of EHPs on topics such the legislation
in question.
2) Yes.
i) The results of the samples submitted by the municipalities and
provinces to determine the safety of the foodstuffs concerned,
analyzed by the Forensic Chemical Laboratories of the Department
of Health, which did not comply with the provisions of Act 54 of
1972, with specific reference to the relevant regulations
published under the Act, are available.
ii) The results of the samples mentioned under point (2)(i) do not
include the analyses of samples for compositional verification,
for the reasons stated under point 1(1), second paragraph.
(aa) and (bb) Details of the products that failed are provided in the
attached schedules, those of 2006-2007 in Appendix 1; 2007-08 in
Appendix 2; 2008-09 in Appendix 3; 2009-10 in Appendix 4; and
20010-2011 in Appendix 5.
(cc) It is not expected that details of whether any action has been
taken against any producer whose product failed testing be
provided to the Department of Health by the municipalities
and provinces concerned and the information in question is
therefore currently not available.
END.