Council raids Fahhida Supermarket
MASERU — The Maseru City Council (MCC) yesterday seized stacks of rotten and expired food parcels at Fahhida Supermarket.
Some food items had expired as back as 2009. These included a variety of cold meats, sauces, cooking oil, bread floor, milk and many others.
Fahhida Supermarket is popular with the masses for its low prices.
The MCC information officer, Lintle Moerane, told the Lesotho Times during the raid that they were tipped by a customer that the supermarket was selling expired foodstuffs.
“A concerned buyer called the office to tell us about the expired food. She had discovered that the item had exceeded the expiry date. Then she cared to check other items displayed on the shelves and found that most of them had also expired,” Moerane said.
She said they then called the Fahhida management and told them that they would be inspecting them.
“We went there in the afternoon. We found out that a whole lot of the items had passed their sell-by date. Food items on display and in storage had expired,” she added.
Yesterday the MCC cleared all shelves of expired food. Loads more were confiscated from the storeroom.
It was discovered during the operation that some food items were tampered with to remove the expiry date.
“Some items were repackaged. They removed the wrapping plastics, washed and erased the expiry dates and rewrapped them.”
All the confiscated goods were loaded onto a garbage truck to be buried at the MCC dump site in Ha-Tšosane.
Visibly angry members of the supermarket’s management blamed the MCC for seizing and destroying unexpired foodstuffs.
A woman at the shop claimed that some bags of rice that had been seized had just been bought from a wholesaler.
She also blamed the MCC officers for taking away chewing gums.
But she was embarrassed when the expiry dates on some of the items were dating back to 2011.
The supermarket management refused to comment.
Moerane said that supermarket owners will be charged with contravening the Public Health Order of 1970.
If convicted they could be sentenced to six months imprisonment or a pay a fine of M250 or both.
“Some food samples have been picked to be used as exhibits to the court,” she said.
Moerane said the MCC was concerned by business owners who sell expired foodstuffs to the public.
“It is a common and serious problem. We appeal to people to report such cases. MCC will continue with the operation in other shops selling foodstuffs.”
Comment by Lekaota on 28 June 2012:
Hona ho bolela hore MCC ha e etse mosebetsi, Hantle ke eona ee lokeloang ho nkoa ka lechoba.Hohle mona lesotho re jesoa libolu hase Maseru mona feela. O ka ipotsa hore naa haare koana bo Ketane li Supermarketeng tsa melata teng ho joang.
Maseru mona ke hona moo batho ba etsang eka baea sebetsa ho khahlisa benghali.
Likhoebo tsee ha li hlahlojoe nako le nako ke eng? Hona naa ka ‘nete re tiile rere Maphelo a rona aa pataloa ka R250? Ntate Phoofolo ako shebeng likahlolo tsena hantle,hona ke Papali,Batho bana ba meharo ba keke ba emisa ntho ena ha feela le ntse le etsa likahlolo tsena tsa ‘Mantloane.
Comment by Qhosh on 28 June 2012:
Hahahha! i like it now, it seems “KOALESHINE” e tla kenya peke mobung joale!!
Comment by Oa Makhoakhoeng on 28 June 2012:
MCC e ne ntse e etsang since 2009? I don’t understand why are they only seeing stuff that expeired in 2009. They should have seen it in 2010 if they were doing their job correctly.
MCC e batla feela hore bonkeka bana ba qetang ho kena pusong ba nahane hore ba ea sebatsa while they are doing nothing.
All employees ba Environmental Health MCC must be fired, they failed Basotho.
Comment by Tsedi on 28 June 2012:
250? Is this a joke? I spend 250 on peanuts, nxa. Bophelo ba bana basotho bo nkuwa ha sesanyane
Comment by NGO on 28 June 2012:
Ntate Phoofola maphelo a basotho seems to be equivalent to 6mnths or M250. Its a hightime all sentences must be reviewed. Tsena tsa bo 1970 tsona li encourager bobolu and ignorance
Comment by sethunya on 28 June 2012:
Lea hlanya lona…le nonne tjena ke lijo tseno…jwale se le phapha hobane se le reka bo shoprite! nxa
Comment by Kendy on 28 June 2012:
I am so touched by this, esp. the probable sentence. In 2009, I was admitted into hospital for two weeks and nearly died after eating a tin-staff, which I found later that it had expired. Since then I am very particular about what I buy and where I buy such. Please be careful Basotho.
Comment by Dan on 28 June 2012:
Why lesotho is under developed, is because by rampant corruption which is like part of the culture unless Basotho changes thier world view no progress will never be made.What Sethunya has just said bears testimony to this, how do we give justified political thieves who have been ruling our beloved country all this long and even today there are still Basotho who still want the same thieves to rule the country again. I mean people full corruption, who are not efficient, slothful to rule the country again. Lesotho is not underdeveloped by europe or developed nations it is underdeveloped by corruption. The desease, lack of education etc. are r a result of corruption.
If you give a Mosotho, your brother to buy something costing 100 maluti he will buy an inferior one costing 20 maluti and lie to you and say he spend 100. You tell an officer to enforce one law they pocket kickbacks and not enforce the law.
Lastly I applaud them and I ask the paliament to reveiw those laws. This report is disgusting.
Comment by Lefefooane on 28 June 2012:
Congratulations to the new government. For a longtime the old regime was there wtching when Basotho ate rotten food sold by Chinese and Pakistanese. La chaba letsati. Ntate Thabane tsoara joalo lekhoakhoa.
Comment by Alicia Deo on 28 June 2012:
These people have been messing with the basotho people for many years.
If you take the time to go through all online articals regarding Fahhida Supermarket,
You will find its not the first time this is happening. Fine of M250 is a joke.
I know indian people who worked there and wittnessed the flour been sifted n repackaged
In the storeroom. They said those people are horrible and were not interested in the peoples health.
And that they were there just to provide a service while making a quick buck.
I’m glad they no longer wrk for Fahhida.
Comment by mr fang kong on 28 June 2012:
go to jackpot , they will find much more expired food.
i wonder how this rubbish ground still sales so much everyday.
everything in jackpot is expired even the boss John is a dead man , his corpes is running the business and yet everyday so many basothos goes and buy from jackpot.
amazing
Comment by Moferefere on 29 June 2012:
@mr fang kong …….. e ka ntshehisa ke sa batle please.
I am glad this mess was discovered; the MCC must do a thorough check with other shops as well.
Comment by Mokotla on 29 June 2012:
MCC has got to do evrything! For your onfo Lekhalaneng mono maobane ho no aneuoe likipa le li phenti entrance ea storeroom sa teng and ke pela section eo ho beuoeng cereals.He meleko e mengata hleng.Uena Lintle ebe o mametse eskaba ntse ke iqeta energy mona le sa tlo etsa letho.That is Gordon’s now called Masters Supammaooqete
Comment by stebe on 29 June 2012:
jo taba tsena li balehisa mmele ha o ka nahana kotsi ea food poisoning, le joale re thata Basotho.
I think solution ke hore ho ke ho lumelloe feela melata e tlang koano ho tla etsa mesebetsi e meholo, eseng ere motho ha a baleha ho lula tlasa borokho ha habo koana ebe o tla mona hothoe o se a na le passport ea Lesotho. passport ea lesotho ha e etse hore iligal immigrant a be legal. the last time i checked batho ba amoheloang ho fumana citezenship ea lesotho ho na le record ea bona immigration ebile ho ne ho etsoa press conference ho tla ba amohela. then what makes it impossible for gornment hore e qose batho ba ba deportoe just like basotho are being depoted from other countries, ha se rona ba tla tla phutha crime ea linaha tse ling mona. khilik!joale e be re tseka sebaka sa ho rekisa liapole le batho baa! joale batho ba moo ba baitsokoli ba etse joang. na ha ke so bone mosotho ea rekisang liapole china. bona ba re utloang!
Comment by stebe on 29 June 2012:
Feela le joale ke re kannete basotho we need to invest our funds in developing science and technology skills re fokotse in other sectors. if that can be done, re tla ba le pool a kholo ea science and technology skills tse tla re thusa nyolla our technology culture and ho tla ba bonolo to bring in high technology industries into our country. im saying this because we should haveb learned our lesson from mistakes of countries like china which have developed their country through textile industry at the cost of their environment.
Comment by stebe on 29 June 2012:
i want to believe that it is not wise to produce a million tshirts and jeans to provide for the cost of one plane, while we could maybe produce 5 good cars to get the same plane. the cost of the textile interms of enviromental pollution and our health is so bad, e tla re siha le longterm health problems. etsoe re batla hore our next generation e fihle e fumana metsi a rona a ntse a le masoeu.ke mang ea kileng a bona boea ba cotton bo fofang ka hara firm ea jean, bohale ba die eo ea benzine, o ka utloa o hlohile jean e le kannete.
Comment by Soalakahla on 29 June 2012:
Ba le fang litjotjo bona kea tseba le tlo ba tlohela,ha ke khahloe!
Comment by unknown on 30 June 2012:
it is indeed right that they go caught but to blame the rest is very childish that every day people are dying eating expired stuff,, bloody sort the economy and stop crime and other corruption this expired stuff is the least of the lesotho problems, the fact s that entire political will remain corrupt and look for their own benifits
Comment by Batho on 30 June 2012:
“If convicted they could be sentenced to six months imprisonment or a pay a fine of M250 or both”
Bloody hell, what is this ??????????????????????????????????
Comment by Tsoere on 30 June 2012:
Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph! Heavenly God! SIX MONTHS IMPROVEMENT OR PAY A FINE OF M250.00 OR BOTH! It’s high time we wake up Basotho! Pobboppp!!!
Comment by Tsoere on 30 June 2012:
IMPRISONMENT not IMPROVEMENT.
Comment by Tau Tona on 5 July 2012:
Its such a shame how does some sell expired goods over 500 000 then get a fine of 250? its a shame Question is how much did the Judicial system get off the records? if not they are a joke to this Country
Comment by basotho on 6 July 2012:
They should be imprisioned the whole lot of them.
Ntate Abdulla who is almost dead with all his sickness,
Deserves to rot in jail. Ma sibina should join him cz she
Sells indian goods like Kuber n pun under the counter just because
Its not vat registered. As for Saajida she claims to own the store
And keeps on telling ppl she’s incharge n she’s the boss should be left in the supermarket for the RATS to eat her
Like they eat everything else.