Abstract:
Background: The recent listeriosis outbreak in South Africa brought food safety concerns to the fore in terms of
both policy and practice. These concerns encompass both health and nutrition aspects, as well as the economy,
because the food system in South Africa contributes significantly to economic growth and food security.
However, the food sector is challenged with food safety risks, such as foodborne diseases, food fraud and a
general lack of effective enforcement of regulation. The inability of government to effectively regulate the food
sector is a contributing factor to increased food safety risks. Focusing on the formal sector, which is subject to
regulation, this review provides an overview of the current state of food safety policies and regulations, food
safety challenges, and food safety practices in the food system, after the listeriosis crisis of 2017 and 2018.
Method: This study used a systematic process to review three sets of data in South Africa: food safety related
public policies and regulations, company reports (2013–2018) and media articles (May 2017–May 2018). Food
safety policies were selected from a food system policy database created by the research team. The company
reports were retrieved from their websites. Factivia was used to search for the media articles. The data were
thematically analyzed. The analysis framework was informed by the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO)
food safety risk analysis. Activities related to food safety risk analysis: risk assessment, risk management, and
risk communication were searched for in each material included in the study.
Results: Seventy-four documents made up of 13 policies, 47 media articles and 15 company reports were reviewed.
Food safety is regulated by three governments departments: Department of Health (DOH), Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through bylaws and
regulations. The departments are directly (DAFF) or indirectly (DOH through municipal or metro Environmental
Health Professional) involved in food safety enforcement, surveillance, and education. The enforcement of
different regulatory processes is often poorly coordinated. Responding to this regulatory environment, food
safety activities of the food retail industry include a self-regulatory system reliant on internal and third-party
food audits, worker training, external testing, and consumer education. Given this fragmented framework and
the lack of interaction, it is clear that the governance of the South African food safety system is not “fit for
purpose” in that there is a gap in the effectiveness of government regulation and the self-regulation of the formal
sector, and a growing risk from an inability to regulate the large informal sector. Food safety challenges identified
in our analysis included disease outbreaks, concerns over mislabeling, and lack of regulation for food
handling and distribution.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that there should be a combination of responsibility from all levels of stakeholders
in the food retail sector in order to improve food safety and prevent food safety breaches. In addition,
strong governance of the food safety system is required to enable effective legislation and enforcement.