Ensuring Consumer Food Safety Through Micro and Small Supplier Development

The landscape of food supply in South Africa ranges from formal to informal, high-end production facilities to small-scale food farmers and food producers. All play a vital role in ensuring food supply to millions of people in our country, however most of the efforts relating to food safety are focused on the high-end production facilities and mainstream retailers. The informal and small-scale markets trade food products daily without being regulated, serviced by vendors who may not be trained or qualified to produce food products that will be safe and trustworthy.

Though many small-scale food producers will have acquired a Certificate of Acceptability (COA), this does not automatically ensure they have a full understanding of the necessary food safety principles, nor that they are implementing the basics such as personal and environmental hygiene practices, batch control processes, pest control or managing cross contamination risks. Also of concern is the controls for allergens, like nuts or soy products, that should be in place and should clearly be included in product labels to ensure the safety of the end user. Limited knowledge and understanding of what is required to be compliant and achieve certification, or lack of financial resources by the vendor to undergo the potentially costly training and certification processes are stumbling blocks for many small operators in the food sector. The SPAR Group…

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Food & Beverage Reporter (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2023

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