Agriculture Department to Investigate Terbufos Manufacturers
The Department of Agriculture has been assigned to investigate factories producing a pesticide, Terbufos, which has been linked to the deaths of several children in the country.
Terbufos is an extremely toxic chemical primarily used in agriculture to control pests.
However, it is being sold illegally by vendors and spaza shops and is commonly used in households to kill rodents.
Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Thembi Simelane announced that the agriculture department would oversee the monitoring and distribution of the pesticide.
Speaking at a press briefing held by an inter-ministerial team addressing food poisoning, Simelane explained the measures to be taken.
“But in the next few days the Department of Agriculture will conduct inspections at all five registered manufacturers of Terbufos to ascertain control and determine if markers are put into locally produced products, to distinguish between legally imported and locally produced chemicals,” she said.