Council raises red flag over illegal food outlets 

Source: Council raises red flag over illegal food outlets | The Sunday Mail

Tanyaradzwa Rusike and Evelyn Matimbire

ILLEGAL food vendors have virtually taken over every street in the capital.

It is now common to see food being sold in the heart of the central business district (CBD) from a car boot.

Illegal backyard food outlets have also mushroomed in downtown Harare.

With the rainy season in full swing, the authorities are concerned that the resultant unsanitary environment might create ideal conditions for a major disease outbreak.

Although popular with bargain hunters because of their low prices, the food outlets do not follow prescribed health and sanitation regulations.

Health experts believe consuming such food poses risks of diseases such as food poisoning, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, salmonella, typhoid and cholera.

Harare City Council director of health services Doctor Prosper Chonzi said people who sell food should be properly registered.

“Illegal food outlets are mushrooming all over. We have also noticed that people are now selling food in their car boots during lunch hour in town and at tertiary institutions,” he said.“The environment they are using does not conform to the required health standards. There are no ablution facilities and no running water. We are in the rainy season and buying from these illegal spaces means that people are likely to be infected with food-borne diseases. It is a real disaster that is waiting to happen,” he said.

According to the Food Hygiene By-law, Section 8 k (ii), “the public should not place any food lower than 500 millimetres from the ground or any pavement or in or about any forecourt or yard”.

The law further states that “open food, while displayed or exposed for sale . . . is kept covered or otherwise effectively screened so as to prevent any infection or contamination”.

Food vendors, however, flagrantly disregard such regulations.

The City of Harare used to frequently raid illegal food vendors, but has since stopped doing so.

Dr Chonzi attributed the lack of enforcement to the shortage of manpower.

“People are just doing what they want in the CBD because there is lack of prosecution. The council is unable to enforce these laws due to shortage of manpower; they are not able to go around the CBD every day,” he said.

Dr Chonzi exhorted the public to buy food at outlets that are scrupulously observing the standards prescribed in the Public Health Act.

“Health is your individual responsibility. Do not just buy food everywhere. We are also discouraging people from selling food without the requirements that are there in the Public Health Act.”

Public health expert Dr Amos Marume said people who are illegally selling food are putting people’s lives at risk.

“The risks associated with such illegal markets of meats are to do with zoonotic and related infections such as those from the E. coli bacteria and salmonella, which can really cause food poisoning and sudden death.

“The other risk has to do with drug resistance from inadequately screened and processed meats and related animal products.

“These may contain antimicrobial agents that may expose individuals to sub-therapeutic concentrations of the agents.”

Local authorities, he said, should work together with public health practitioners to protect citizens from risks of contracting diseases.

He added that corruption by some council officials, who are paid bribes to allow the illegal operators to stay put, is also exacerbating the challenge.

“The city fathers do actually have a good framework to deal with such risks, which probably need enforcement but often corruption is limiting enforcement. People should know that formal markets seem to be expensive because they have to factor in safety procedures.

“The illegal market, however, does not really care about safety, hence their prices are lower but very expensive when you consider your health,” he said.

Restaurant Operators’ Association of Zimbabwe (ROAZ) president Bongai Zamchiya said the illegal operators are eating into their income.

“It is a legal requirement in Zimbabwe for all restaurant operators to be registered with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and to hold operating and health licences from their local government authorities,” he said.

“ROAZ is, indeed, concerned about the operations of unlicensed operators, including those people who sell food from car boots, unhygienic street vending sites and uninspected premises.

“Their operations pose a threat to public health and deny income to properly registered operators.”