The DA has criticised the Gauteng health department for failing to implement contingency plans for hospitals affected by the closure of food supplier, Masakhane Cook Freeze Factory.

The factory, which produced plated meals for six hospitals and several community healthcare centres in the province, was shut after city inspectors discovered E. coli bacteria in its meals.

The closure of the factory has resulted in a shortage of food, particularly at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital.

DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, Jack Bloom, says he visited the hospital last week after receiving complaints from patients.

“I went there last week and I confirmed that, in fact, the missing meal was lunch. The hospital is able to provide breakfast and supper. They normally get full plated meals from the cook freeze, Masakhane factory – that’s a provincially run facility in Pretoria, but I found out that apparently they had found E.Coli at the cook freeze factory and it’s been closed for two weeks now,” says Bloom.

“I checked at the hospital’s kitchen what they were able to provide, which was a thick piece of bread with a little bit of margarine and a little bit of cheese and that’s all that they were getting,” he adds.

MEDIA ADVISORY || GAUTENG HEALTH MEC TO BRIEF MEDIA ON CONTINGENCY PLANS FOLLOWING TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF MASAKHANE COOK FREEZE FACTORY pic.twitter.com/7cxEHXfaUv

— Gauteng Health (@GautengHealth) November 25, 2025

[ON AIR] Patients at @CharlotteMaxJAH are going hungry due to the closure of the provincial Masakhane Cook Freeze Factory, which has failed food safety inspections. During a visit to the hospital on Tuesday, 18 November, Jack Bloom confirmed serious concerns about inadequate… pic.twitter.com/XavsXMZDdQ

— SAfmRadio (@SAfmRadio) November 25, 2025

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