Three children, aged between 1 and 4, have died of suspected food poisoning in East London.
Authorities said a fourth child was also admitted to a hospital following Friday’s incident but was later discharged.
Buffalo City mayor, Princess Faku, is due to visit the families of the children on Sunday, who died after reportedly eating instant porridge bought at an Mdantsane supermarket.
BCM spokesperson, Samkelo Ngwenya said all the batches of the suspected food product (instant porridge) were removed from the shelves until laboratory reports are back.
He said the City has instructed regional managers at the supermarket to voluntary remove the suspected product from circulation across the City until tests are conducted.
"Whilst the direct link to the fatalities has not been scientifically established, we suspect organophosphate poisoning based on clinical information obtained from the treatment facility (Nontyatyambo health clinic)."
Ngwenya said samples will be sent for testing to the national health laboratory services in Gauteng and Cape Town.
He said Buffalo City Metro has been conducting weekly operations targeting food selling premises and spaza shops to enforce Bylaws and to ensure that they adhere to safety, health and environmental standards which will be intensified.
Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, also expressed his sadness at the passing of the young children.
“My heart bleeds for the families and loved ones of the victims. I extend my deepest and heartfelt condolences to them during this unbearable moment. I am profoundly saddened and shocked by these incidents”, Mabuyane said.
Meanwhile, the SPAR Group said it was shocked and deeply saddened by reports on social media of three children tragically passing away after allegedly consuming a vanilla-flavoured instant maize porridge produced in Namibia.
In a holding statement on Sunday, the supermarket group said that it was also working with local authorities to contact the family and offer them support.
The company has offered its deepest sympathy and condolences to the children's family during this extremely difficult time.
"While the cause of death is still to be ascertained, we have been in contact with the supplier to immediately suspend distribution of the product.
"We have also taken the precautionary measure of removing the product from our shelves while the necessary food safety measures are being conducted, which includes comprehensive laboratory testing," the Spar Group statement said.
