The sale of rotten and expired food in shops around Vhembe will be a thing of the past, thanks to a campaign by the Vhembe District Municipality.
The municipality, using its environmental health practitioners, has declared war on shops and businesses that do not adhere to health regulations. The campaign, which is being held in conjuction with the South African Receiver of Revenue and the labour department, will take place throughout the festive season. Because of this campaign, which is led by Mr Alex Nemakonde, the general manager of community services in Vhembe, many businesses around Thohoyandou received unannounced visits to their premises.
Several businesses who were found to have infringed the regulations had their stock condemned and others received warnings which, if not adhered to, might see the businesses being closed.
Nemakonde, the coordinator of the campaign, said they went out and inspected businesses from time to time in order to see if they were complying with the law. “Rotten food has a detrimental effect on the health of our people. With the festive season just around the corner, the buying spree is about to start where people will just rush to shops and buy things without even checking the expiry date,” said Nemakonde.
He vowed to clean up shops ,so that people get food that will not affect their health. He said some shops were conducting their business in dirty places. Some were selling things that were rotten and in such cases, warnings were served. In certain cases, some of the food was condemned. He said those who were warned and did not follow the rules would find their businesses being forced to close. Nemakonde said he was determined that  “we will win this war before Christmas”.