CropLife SA and its member companies are appalled at recent media reports of young people being poisoned, or even losing their lives, following the consumption of foodstuffs that seem to have been contaminated by illegal pesticides.

The information that the industry association has to date is that some foodstuffs sold by street vendors and spaza shops in different parts of the country have been contaminated either via the illegal application of pesticides for the control of pests (usually cockroaches and rodents) in areas where foods are prepared and sold, or the food contamination has occurred whilst illegal pesticides are stored in close proximity to food that is subsequently sold to children and other persons by street vendors and spaza shops.

Whilst the industry association awaits confirmation from health and police officials as to the exact identification of active ingredients involved in this illegal use of pesticides, the symptoms that have been attributed to the recent poisoning of young persons, strongly indicate that pesticides from the family of organophosphate chemicals are probably involved.

It must be noted that it is illegal in South Africa for any person to sell, have in their possession or use any pesticide that is not registered by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development (DALRRD) in accordance with Act No. 36 of 1947 (the Fertiliser, Farm Feed & Agricultural Remedies Act). This registration by DALRRD dictates that a pesticide (agricultural remedy) may only be sold in original approved packaging, with a detailed product label securely affixed to the product container and may only be used strictly according to label directions in terms of use rate, pest targeted and manner of application.

Based on information received to date, none of the suspected pesticides involved in the recent illegal usage have DALRRD approvals for use to control household pests, nor have they been found in approved packaging. To confirm, these so-called ‘street poisons’ are not registered by DALRRD for such pest control use, are not packaged in approved packaging (they have been illegally re-packaged) and are not labelled in any way with any kind of detailed use restrictions or warnings related to use of the products in any form whatsoever.

Of huge concern to CropLife SA are rumours that street vendors are selling pesticides based on active ingredients that are banned in South Africa or that should not be available for non-agricultural use and should not be applied by persons not suitably qualified to do so. CropLife SA therefore strongly urges the relevant authorities to seize these illegal street poisons, enforce existing laws around the use of pesticides and investigate how banned products are being allowed to enter South Africa.

CropLife SA continues to support the responsible use of legally registered pesticides in South Africa for both agricultural and public health pest control, and urges all consumers to ensure that they only purchase and use pesticides that are registered for use to control targeted pests, that are in the original packaging and that have an official label directing how the product shall be used and the precautions that need to be taken when using the product.