Version 1
: Received: 24 November 2023 / Approved: 27 November 2023 / Online: 27 November 2023 (04:37:29 CET)
How to cite:
Mphaga, K.V.; Moyo, D.; Rathebe, P.C. Unlocking Food Safety: A Comprehensive Review of South Africa's Food Control and Safety Landscape from an Environ-mental Health Perspective. Preprints2023, 2023111645. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202311.1645.v1
Mphaga, K.V.; Moyo, D.; Rathebe, P.C. Unlocking Food Safety: A Comprehensive Review of South Africa's Food Control and Safety Landscape from an Environ-mental Health Perspective. Preprints 2023, 2023111645. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202311.1645.v1
Mphaga, K.V.; Moyo, D.; Rathebe, P.C. Unlocking Food Safety: A Comprehensive Review of South Africa's Food Control and Safety Landscape from an Environ-mental Health Perspective. Preprints2023, 2023111645. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202311.1645.v1
APA Style
Mphaga, K.V., Moyo, D., & Rathebe, P.C. (2023). Unlocking Food Safety: A Comprehensive Review of South Africa's Food Control and Safety Landscape from an Environ-mental Health Perspective. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202311.1645.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Mphaga, K.V., Dingani Moyo and Phoka Caiphus Rathebe. 2023 "Unlocking Food Safety: A Comprehensive Review of South Africa's Food Control and Safety Landscape from an Environ-mental Health Perspective" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202311.1645.v1
Abstract
Food fraud (often called fake food in South Africa), the deliberate misrepresentation or adulteration of food products for financial gain, is a growing problem in South Africa (SA) with severe public health and financial consequences for consumers and businesses. The recent public outcry against food fraud practices, especially in communities that have lost loved ones due to the consumption of allegedly unsafe foodstuffs, highlights the grave danger that food fraud poses to consumers and the potential for significant reputational damage to food manufacturers. Despite the risks, food fraud often goes undetected, as perpetrators are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The precise magnitude of food fraud remains obscure, as incidents that do not cause consumer illnesses are frequently unreported and, as a result, are not investigated. Food fraud costs the global economy billion annually. This cost is borne by consumers, businesses, and the government. Food fraud can occur at any stage of the food supply chain, from production to processing to retailing or distribution. This is due in part to the limitations of current analytical methods, which are not always able to detect food fraud. This systematic literature review of food fraud in SA looks at several factors that may be contributing to epidemic of food fraud (fake food), including lenient penalties, inadequate government commitment, a complex labelling regulations, emerging threats such as e-commerce, and a shortage of inspectors and laboratories. The review recommends establishing a single food control/safety authority, developing more food safety laboratories, and adopting innovative technologies to detect and prevent food fraud. SA faces a serious food fraud crisis unless decisive action is taken.
Public Health and Healthcare, Public, Environmental and Occupational Health
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
