CAPE TOWN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile on Thursday called for active citizen involvement in ensuring food safety and urged the public to report suspicious food-handling practices to authorities.

He made the call during an oral question-and-answer session at the National Assembly of Parliament in Cape Town, the country's legislative capital, amid rising concerns about contaminated food linked to recent student deaths across the country.

"As government, we condemn in the strongest of terms, the irresponsible acts that have led to the loss of lives due to food-contamination cases affecting mainly children in recent weeks," Mashatile told the National Assembly when replying to a question about the cases.

He outlined key government measures, including mandating all spaza shops and food-handling facilities to register with municipalities within 21 days to ensure legal compliance.

Mashatile emphasized that this initiative would enforce legal compliance and uplift township economies by integrating these businesses into the broader economic framework. "We have a duty to provide not only a legal structure but also meaningful support," he said.

To bolster this effort, Mashatile noted that the Department of Small Business Development has rolled out measures to support small businesses to adhere to health and safety regulations. Additionally, a 500-million-rand (about 27.7 million U.S. dollars) joint fund has been set up to support South African-owned businesses in township and rural areas once they meet the compliance requirements.

"Further, we are tackling food-borne incidences and unregistered spaza shops through the National Joint Operations and Intelligence Structure, which is a multi-sectoral intervention plan," he said.

Meanwhile, the deputy president emphasized the importance of public involvement and encouraged citizens to report suspicious food-handling activities to local authorities, particularly unregistered spaza shops or the sale of counterfeit or expired goods.

"Most importantly, we urge local communities to report suspicious activities and promote awareness to Environmental Health Officers of their local municipalities," said Mashatiel. "I call upon communities to refrain from illegal registration of the spaza shops."

"We all have a responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities and in particular, our children," he added.