Food Safety Club – South Africa
Prof. Belinda Meiring interviewed on behalf of FSSF by Rob Groot.
Prof. Thierry Regnier interviewed on behalf of FSSF by Rob Groot.
ADDRESSING SOUTH AFRICA’S FOOD SAFETY CRISIS
THROUGH HOLISTIC YOUTH EDUCATION
South Africa faces a mounting food safety emergency that claimed many lives in 2024 and 2025, with more than 890 reported foodborne illness cases predominantly affecting school children. In response to this crisis, Professor Belinda Meiring and Professor Thierry Regnier from the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria have launched a pioneering Food Safety Club initiative that extends beyond traditional education to embrace a comprehensive wellness approach for vulnerable communities.
A Perfect Storm of Contributing Factors
The tragic deaths resulted from multiple converging challenges. South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases documented bacterial infections including salmonellosis, campylobacter, and listeriosis, alongside mycotoxin contaminations involving aflatoxins and patulin. However, the most devastating recent incidents stemmed from illegal street pesticide poisoning. Agricultural pesticides approved for licensed nematode control are being used illegally in townships for rodent management, with pellets contaminating food at unauthorized repackaging facilities in informal settlements.
The crisis reflects deeper systemic issues
South Africa has become “the El Dorado for Africa,” attracting refugees and economic migrants from conflict zones in Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and French-speaking Central Africa. This influx creates massive informal settlements around cities, straining food security networks. As communities transition from indigenous food preparation methods to purchasing locally packaged processed foods—often the cheapest available due to financial constraints—food safety risks multiply exponentially. This situation places South Africa among the 50 percent of African nations on the top list of food-insecure countries, despite its natural wealth.
A Holistic Vision for Sustainable Change
The professors’ pilot program deployed diverse educational activities addressing multiple dimensions of student wellbeing. Sessions covered sensory science and flavor perception, microorganisms and food spoilage, hand washing and hygiene protocols, plus mindful movement and self-awareness workshops conducted with colleagues from the somatology department. Critically, they trained kitchen staff preparing government-subsidized school meals, recognizing that institutional food preparation represents a crucial intervention point.
Student feedback proved overwhelmingly positive, though both educators acknowledge their work cannot single-handedly solve underlying poverty and food insecurity. Instead, they focus on creating awareness and opening new worlds for students in small communities while building future food safety ambassadors. Their approach requires interdisciplinary collaboration with health science faculties, nursing departments, and education specialists because sustainable impact demands holistic attention to children’s nutrition and overall wellbeing, not merely food safety instruction.
Looking forward, the team seeks funding to expand home food preservation training, requiring basic resources to demonstrate safe canning procedures for indigenous fruit jams and high-acid products like tomato relish. They aim to network with other international food safety clubs to exchange best practices while maintaining their distinctive holistic methodology. The goal remains clear: mentoring young people to become community ambassadors who carry food safety knowledge into their neighborhoods and families, generating long-term public health benefits.
Corporate sponsors can support measurable community transformation while aligning with social responsibility objectives. This investment protects vulnerable populations from preventable foodborne illnesses while cultivating informed future leaders equipped to break cycles of food insecurity.