BY PHUMELELE GAMEDZE
MBABANE – Food can look safe while carrying hidden health risks, Ministry of Health Environmental Health Officer Norman Maseko warned on the Kusile Breakfast Show today, as inspectors check food premises throughout the year for expiry dates, contamination, packaging and other safety violations.
Speaking on Eswatini TV’s Kusile Breakfast Show, Maseko unpacked how environmental health officers inspect food businesses, educate food handlers and follow up complaints to help protect the public from unsafe food.
“The role of environmental health compliance is looking at people, do they really comply on public health regulations and standards that guides people,” said Maseko.
He said the Public Health Act and regulations covering different food businesses guide the work, including regulations relating to food hygiene and bakeries.
For many consumers, buying food simply means picking a product from a shelf and paying for it.
But Maseko said there is work happening behind those shelves to determine whether food is safe for consumption.
“We inspect food because there are things that need to be checked in terms of shelf life, on when that food expires. Look at those preservatives,” he said.
The Ministry of Health identifies food hygiene and safety as part of environmental health services aimed at preventing food-borne illnesses, with inspections of trade premises forming part of this work.
Maseko said officers check issues including shelf life, expiry dates, preservatives, storage, packaging and labelling.
One of the key issues raised during the discussion was aflatoxin.
Aflatoxins are toxins produced by certain moulds that can contaminate food. The World Health Organization says high exposure can cause acute poisoning, while long-term exposure is associated with liver cancer.
The concern for consumers is that contamination may not always be visible to the naked eye.
This makes inspection, proper food
handling and laboratory testing important parts of protecting the public.
The Ministry of Health also has laboratory services that can analyse food samples for toxic contaminants and assist in investigating food-borne illness outbreaks.
Maseko said environmental health officers also educate shop workers on how to manage their stock.
“We teach those in shops to use the first in first out strategy,” he said.
The first-in, first-out method means older products are sold or used before newer stock, helping businesses avoid leaving older products forgotten at the back of shelves.
Maseko also highlighted repackaging and relabelling.
He used cooking oil as an example, saying some businesses may transfer oil from its original container into another container before selling it.
“People have to be careful in repackaging and relabelling. For example, cooking oil normally some shops would repackage cooking oil in other containers,” he said.
The warning is important because packaging and labelling provide consumers with information about what they are buying and how the product should be handled.
Maseko said members of the public can report concerns to health authorities, including through social media platforms.
“We also do get complaints as health, we have social media pages where we check those complaints and follow them,” he said.
“We help the people and we are their eyes,” said Maseko.
That means a consumer who notices questionable food handling, packaging or other possible health risks can report the concern instead of simply walking away.
Maseko said businesses are first educated and given an opportunity to correct problems.
“We also work with the police if other shops do not comply, but that happens when we teach them but still do not listen and after three notices then drastic measures are taken,” he said.
The approach places education and compliance before tougher enforcement.
Street food vendors are another area requiring attention.
Maseko acknowledged that some vendors face challenges in following health requirements, particularly around food preparation and food-handler requirements.
He said environmental health officers continue working with vendors and educating them on the importance of following health rules.
The work does not stop in towns. Environmental health personnel also operate through health facilities and communities in rural areas, ensuring that public health services reach people beyond the major urban centres.
For a parent buying groceries, a worker buying lunch or a family purchasing food from a local vendor, environmental health inspections may seem like something happening in the background.
But the work eventually comes down to something every household understands — protecting the food that reaches the family table.
Maseko’s message is that food safety is a shared responsibility. Businesses must follow the rules, health officers must continue inspecting and educating, while consumers can remain alert and report concerns.
Because sometimes, the most important danger in food is the one the eye cannot see.
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