Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

2-minute read

13 August 2026

With only 18% of schools in six provinces meeting the legal requirements for food handling, children across the country are being put at risk.

The National School Nutrition Programme feeds roughly 9.4 million pupils daily across 20 thousand schools throughout South Africa. But more than 7 thousand schools in 6 provinces are serving meals from kitchens that have not been certified safe for food preparation and could put children at risk.

Speaking to Ml Sulaimaan Ravat on Sabahul Muslim this morning, UJ professor Sarita Ramsaroop says that food quality and food safety is “non-negotiable,” and a valid certificate of acceptability should guarantee that food is prepared hygienically to protect children from food poisoning and illnesses.

With only 1616 schools having the correct certification, there are consequences for schools who are not certified, like exclusion and the risk of not having access to a reliable meal. For many children, the outcome is “devastating” as this is the only meal that they receive every day.

The certificate of acceptability takes into accounts aspects like whether food handlers have been trained in proper hygienic practices, levels of hygiene, how food is prepared, using proper equipment, storage facilities to keep food at a certain temperature, waste management and how waste is disposed of. Beyond the control of the schools themselves is the fact that while government is providing them with the meals for pupils, they are not provided with the infrastructure to ensure and maintain food safety.

Professor Ramsaroop highlights that the children attending these “non-fee-paying schools” come from struggling family backgrounds and rely on the meals provided at schools. The question of who takes ownership of this issue and manages it must be addressed by government. It will take a long time to bypass the red tape and put the correct safety infrastructure in place to ensure pupils at schools are being served food that is safe, she emphasizes.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat and Professor Ramsaroop here.