CoGTA minister to visit child hospitalised for food poisoning

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa will visit an eight year old child currently hospitalised after consuming contaminated snacks bought from a spaza shop in Mapetla, Soweto.

The City of Johannesburg municipality spokesperson, Virgil James, says the boy started vomiting shortly after eating the snacks, complaining of stomach pain and lost mobility.

The boy is currently hospitalised in the Intensive Care Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital.

James says the empty packet of snacks has been taken to the laboratory for testing and they are awaiting results.

“The City of Johannesburg’s Environmental Health Department acted swiftly to close a spaza shop on Monday 7 April 2025. Inspectors conducted an interview with the family and discovered that a young male of 8-years-old had bought a maize snack and subsequently fell ill after consuming the snack. He was then rushed to hospital and kept at ICU,” says James.