Rustenburg – The National Consumer Council is probing Grandisyn CC, the supplier of Howe Instant Noodles, following the deaths of three children in the Eastern Cape.
Acting commissioner Thezi Mabuza said in a statement that, based on the information provided to the commission by other regulators and suppliers, the commission had reasonable suspicion that Grandisyn CC supplied unsafe goods or goods that posed potential risk to the public.
Mabuza said that, while the commission was awaiting laboratory results, the investigation would help it to understand the nature, causes, extent and degree of the risk to the public.
"...Should our investigation reveal that indeed Grandisny CC contravened the provision of the Act, we will refer the matter to the National Consumer Tribunal for imposition of administrative fine of 10 percent of their total annual turnover or R1 000 000, whichever is greater," she said.
"As regulators in the food safety environment, we (will) get to the bottom of this matter to ensure that those liable are hold accountable.
"We urge consumers to practice good food hygiene. Suppliers are obligated to protect consumers, where there are potential hazards, suppliers are required to inform the relevant regulators and consumers," Mabuza said.
Three children died after eating noodles in New Brighton, Nelson Mandela Bay, in November.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the three children accompanied their grandparents on a visit to relatives in New Brighton. They stayed over and the next day an 11-year-old girl went to the shop and bought a packet of noodles.
She then cooked and shared them with her two cousins, a seven-year-old and four-month-old.
The 11-year-old and the seven-year-old later complained of stomach cramps and nausea. They died on their way to the Motherwell clinic in a private car.
The four-month-old also died en route to hospital in another private car.
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