IT did not seem poisonous.
The sadza was steaming.
The relish had colour.
But by midnight, the child was vomiting and by dawn, she was too weak to cry.
Leftovers, especially sadza or spicy foods, are the silent killer gripping Zimbabwean communities that cook once and eat twice.
“Some of these containers may be poisonous, but it affects us gradually and unknowingly,” said Trynos Bakasa, a villager under Chief Mjinga, about 80km east of Karoi.
Keep Reading
- Zim health system is in intensive care: How it got there
- Measles threat growing
- Take your child for measles vaccination
- Residents cry foul over Ngozi Mine pollution
On June 7, the world marked World Food Safety Day running under the theme Food safety: Science in Action.
The World Health Organisation says one in nine people fall sick every year from contaminated food.
That is 866 million cases and 1,5 million deaths, with children under five carrying a third of that burden.
But across Zimbabwe, the numbers have faces.
Globally, unsafe food triggers more than 200 diseases, including typhoid, hepatitis A and cholera.
It fills hospital wards every summer, empties clinic drug shelves, and forces mothers to spend money on transport to buy medicine.
Several deaths have been recorded, especially from diarrhoea cases that spike with the rains.
“A summer comes, diarrhoea cases spike. Most are children under the age of five years are silent victims. Mothers say ‘but I cooked it’.
“Cooking is not enough. Was it stored safely? Were hands washed? That is where we lose them. We treat, they go home, they come back,” a Karoi based former health officer said.
The problem is national, not rural.
At Magunje Growth Point, 35km west of Karoi, a bucket of water serves hundreds at the vegetable market.
In most towns, vendors rely on borehole water of unknown quality because municipal taps are always dry.
“I know washing matters,” says Rumbidzai Taruza from Chidamoyo.
“But if I use bottled water, prices go up. Customers walk to the next woman.
“We are being punished for trying to be safe.”
Three stalls down in Magunje, vendors share one table.
Roderick Kabatamuswe, one of the vendors, is blunt.
“Two knives? That is maize meal money,” he said.
“Business is survival, not safety.
“Council does not give us taps, but they fine us for dirty stalls.”
This is the hard truth.
Food safety is collapsing not because mothers are careless, but because basic infrastructure is missing nationwide.
No running water in markets that now hold the urban economy.
No cold storages and regular meat inspection.
The crisis is getting worse.
On June 9, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority announced monthly mobile revenue collection and warned it would disconnect accounts with outstanding water bills.
In Karoi, water hardly comes twice a week, if at all it comes.
Disconnections will leave vendors and homes with no water for cooking or washing.
The World Health Organisation says most foodborne illness is preventable.
In Magunje and Mbare alike, poverty forces families to cook once and eat twice.
By evening, the sadza becomes a bacterial lab.
The burden slides from the State to the kitchen or from council to a mother in Tengwe.
Consumer protection groups say the shift must be from reacting to problems after people fall sick, to preventing them before they start.
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) reports that it continues to receive complaints nationwide on expired products, poor storage, inadequate hygiene and misleading labels.
Under its 2026 theme From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere, CCZ is pushing for stronger inspections, better co-ordination between regulators, investment in laboratory testing and public education.
“Food safety is a shared responsibility. It is not regulators alone, nor consumers alone, but government, local authorities, producers, retailers and consumers,” said Rose Mpofu, the CCZ chief executive officer.
Agricultural authorities also weighed in on the day, saying safety standards protect both consumers and farmers trying to access formal markets.
The Agricultural Marketing Authority said it promotes safety through market registration, agro-dealer licensing, inspections and campaigns for good agricultural practices.
“Safe food protects consumers, enhances market access for farmers, and strengthens food security,” added Tina Nleya, marketing and public relations manager at the Agricultural Marketing Authority.
Informal traders, who make up a large part of Zimbabwe’s food system, said they are among the most affected by poor safety conditions.
The Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA) said members face daily challenges with water, storage and hygiene.
ZCIEA is urging all vendors, processors and consumers to adopt basic practices to reduce risk.
“Many informal traders, vendors, food processors, and consumers are directly affected by food safety challenges,” said Wisbon Malaya, secretary-general of ZCIEA, in a written statement.
“We encourage all members and workers in the informal economy to adopt simple food safety practices: wash hands regularly, cook food thoroughly, wash fruits and vegetables, keep food at safe temperatures, and prevent cross-contamination.
“Safe food, safe traders, healthy economy results in sustainable livelihoods.”
For families in Hurungwe or Epworth already choosing between transport and school fees, preventing illness in the plate is cheaper than burying a child.