Change.org petition calls on the Department of Health to recall instant noodles.
An online petition to recall instant noodles has amassed over 1 500 signatures. This comes as a result of the deaths of three children, including a four-month-old in the Eastern Cape and two in Mpumalanga, who experienced nausea and stomach cramps after allegedly ingesting instant noodles.
The petition was started by Thato Majola, and is on Change.org, a website that offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care about to potential signers. Change.org’s stated mission is to “empower people everywhere to create the change they want to see.’’
The petition implores the Department of Health to initiate an immediate product recall for the brands involved in these two cases. “We demand justice for the children who died after allegedly eating noodles,” said Majola.
Majola said he always packed a few snacks for his daughter’s day-care lunch bag and usually included instant noodles.
“I was astonished when I read another story involving deaths due to noodles, this time in Mpumalanga, where two small children shared a packet of noodles before leaving for school. The children died soon after, never making it to school on the fateful day. The case is now with the police,” he said.
The petition calls for the Department of Health to also visit factories for inspection, compile a report on their findings and make the report public.
“The Department of Health must also make public the noodles brand that is killing children.”
In Gqeberha, three children died while being taken to the clinic, while in Mpumalanga, nine-year-old Thato and 13-year-old Keamogetswe Makofane died after arriving at the health facility.
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