Environmental Health

The provincial Environmental Health Services audits (monitors and evaluates), coordinates and supports environmental health services in the province.

More specifically they:

• Monitor the rendering of MHS in the Western Cape
• Formulate provincial environmental health policies, guidelines, norms and standards.
• Ensure co-operative governance with relevant national and provincial departments and other stakeholders.
• Investigate and report on all ministerial (national and provincial) enquiries.
• Facilitate and coordinate the environmental health response regarding disaster management.
• Manage the environmental health information system for the province.
• Facilitate and provide provincial environmental health inputs regarding new developments and land usage.
• Manage and facilitate provincial and national food safety programmes as well as the investigation of food poisoning outbreaks.
• Audit legal compliance of irradiation facilities and irradiated commodities on behalf of the National Department of Health.
• Identify training/education needs of Environmental Health Practitioners (EHP) in the province and facilitate the implementation of training programmes/projects.
• Manage community service of EHPs in the province along with the provincial coordinator for Community Services.
• Control the import, manufacture and sale of hazardous substances (licensing) and facilitate the investigation of pesticide poisonings from agricultural and stock remedies.
• Facilitate and coordinate the environmental health response regarding communicable disease outbreaks.
• Audit environmental health conditions at all government institutions (parliament, hospitals, correctional service institutions, police stations, etc).

The Environmental Health Sub-Directorate is a contact point for the Codex Alimentarius. The Codex Alimentarius is part of a trade agreement to which South Africa belongs that makes sure that the same food safety and composition standards are used around the world. There is also a Western Cape representative on the National Food Legislation Advisory Group (FLAG) body. FLAG is an advisory group that deals with food legislation in South Africa.