By Gift Sebiloane
Johannesburg, South Africa – strict orders issued by Gauteng Education for vendors operating on school premises.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has issued a stern directive to all vendors and spaza shops operating on school premises: obtain a valid Certificate of Acceptability or face potential shutdown.
The move, which comes in the back of increasing food poisoning incidents at schools across South Africa, forms part of a broader effort to ensure the safety and well-being of all learners through the provision of healthy meals.
The call echoes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent announcement giving spaza shop owners 21 days to register their businesses, highlighting a growing emphasis on regulating informal food vendors to protect public health.
Gauteng Education spokesperson Steve Mabona emphasised the importance of compliance in a statement to the press, stating that tuck shops, vendors, and traders can only operate on school grounds if they meet the stipulated requirements. “Districts [offices] and schools are also required to implement measures accordingly,” Mabona added.
Requirements for obtaining the Certificate of Acceptability
To obtain the crucial certificate, vendors must contact their local health department’s Environmental Health Division. This process is aimed at ensuring that vendors adhere to the ‘Food Stuffs, Cosmetics, and Disinfectants Act: Regulations: General hygiene requirements for food premises, transport of food and related matters.
Introduced in South Africa 2018 – to help ensure that all food products are safe for human consumption – the bill (R638 of 2018) prohibits anyone from to selling, manufacturing, or importing any foodstuff, cosmetic or disinfectant which contains prohibited substances.
