South Africa: SABS Urges Vigilance in Food Purchases

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With luggage restrictions, water restrictions and a mild climate, the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is encouraging consumers to be more cautious by examining packages and labels when purchasing groceries.
This includes following basic food hygiene practices when purchasing and preparing food.
SABS constantly reviews and supplements national standards to ensure that South African food sources and production processes meet minimum food safety requirements.
Sadhvir Bissoon, Acting CEO of SABS, said, “Food and foods spoil faster in warm, damp conditions. It’s important that everyone pays more attention to food safety.
Groceries and grocery retailers need to ensure that the cold chain from suppliers to stores is in place and maintained to the point of sale. “Consumers can continue the cold chain by shipping their groceries in cool boxes or having them delivered directly to their homes. We need to be aware of the implications for storage and potential exposure to contamination,” Bithoon said.
The current global food safety standard is Food Safety System Certification 22000 (FSSC 22000).
FSSC certification is a complete food, feed and packaging safety certification scheme for food safety system audits and controls (FSMS). The program is offered and managed by the FSSC Foundation, recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). “It is important that the entire supply chain is SANS/ISO 22000 compliant and certified. SABS provides certification for businesses and provides testing and verification services for food manufacturers.
“In addition, SABS can certify refrigeration/refrigeration units for food and vehicles that transport food. We can identify the nutritional content of chemicals, bacteria, microbes, fungi, and other substances,” explains Bissoon.
SABS offers the following tips:
– If the market does not have a generator or alternative power source to operate the refrigeration unit reliably, purchase groceries delivered that day or ask the market manager to check for “fresh” produce. – Consumers are advised to check the packaging to ensure that the expiration date is indicated, the packaging is undamaged and that the purchase was from a reputable retailer. increase.
– Do not purchase products that do not provide ingredient information, nutrition information, storage instructions, expiration date, date of manufacture, or manufacturing information.If refrigerated, please check whether refrigeration or freezing will be affected before purchase.
– Transport food in cold insulated boxes to keep food longer.
– Products undergoing testing and certification look for product verification, inspection, or certification marks to provide better assurance that manufacturing processes and products comply with SANS/ISO 22000.
– Buy perishable foods in small quantities and use them up as soon as possible.
– Wash your hands regularly and practice good food hygiene when handling food. Clean and sanitize countertops and utensils and cook long enough. – Keep food separate when storing and preparing food at home to avoid cross-contamination, especially with fresh and perishable products such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy and perishables .
– Consumers should use all five senses when handling food at home. For example, if it looks and smells bad, we recommend throwing it away or returning it to the store if it’s unused for a refund.