In just a few weeks, 22 children have died from food poisoning, says South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa in a televised address to the nation on Friday evening.
In a particularly notable case last month, six small children died in Soweto, just outside Johannesburg.
According to Ramaphosa, a packet of chips with traces of a pesticide intended for agriculture was found at one of the deceased children.
The children are believed to have obtained the chips from a so-called spaza – a type of informal shop often run by people who have immigrated to South Africa, which has triggered a wave of xenophobia in the country.
Therefore, the President is ordering a large-scale inspection of all informal food shops, which must register and be inspected within three weeks in order to continue operating.
Municipalities are also being urged to take measures against rats and waste that attracts rats, in order to reduce the need to use dangerous chemicals.
