More than a tonne of food deemed unsafe for human consumption has been seized and destroyed by the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) following inspections that uncovered expired groceries, contaminated meat, uninspected pork and improperly labelled products in supermarkets, butcheries and other food outlets across the city.
The latest report by the council’s Director of Health Services shows environmental health inspectors condemned a wide range of food products during routine inspections conducted in Nkulumane, Emganwini, Thorngrove, Belmont, Sizinda and the central business district.
The largest single seizure was made at DCK Bakery in Thorngrove, where inspectors condemned 351 bags of 10kg Champion Roller Meal after finding the product had expired.
Another major seizure was recorded at Sai Mart in Emganwini, where inspectors confiscated 390kg of expired Champion Roller Meal, expired fresh produce, deformed tins of baked beans and flour products with torn packaging.
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Meat products accounted for a significant proportion of the condemned goods.
Inspectors seized 18.62kg of contaminated beef and 54.76kg of uninspected pork from Strong Fresh in Belmont. At Proffered Butchery in Nkulumane, 5.5kg of beef was declared unfit for human consumption.
Assured Supermarket and Matabele Meats also had 4kg of beef lungs and 3.7kg of spleen, respectively, condemned after failing food safety standards.
The report further shows that 679kg of chicken belonging to Simbisa Brands was destroyed after being classified as unwholesome, while 135kg of gangrenous beef at ZRP Sauerstown was also condemned.
Inspectors also found several retailers selling expired or poorly packaged food products.
At Value Mart on Robert Mugabe Way and Bleace Trading Groceries on George Silundika Street, dented tins of baked beans were condemned, while Mash Meats in Sizinda was found stocking similarly deformed canned products.
Mandlo Enterprises in Nkulumane was cited for selling Golden Flake flour with handwritten expiry dates, while Fruit-go syrup on sale at the same premises had no expiry date.
Oddman Supermarket recorded one of the highest numbers of food safety violations, with inspectors condemning expired sauces, mayonnaise, tea bags and coffee, as well as dented canned baked beans and products without expiry dates.
Other items removed from sale included expired beef pies at SD Supermarket, expired tomato sauce at Shoppers Khaya and 10kg of rotten vegetables at Entumbane Terminus.
The council said all the condemned products were considered unfit for human consumption under public health regulations.
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