Accredited food safety training in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
Food safety training for Johannesburg premises inspected by City of Johannesburg Environmental Health
In Johannesburg the Certificate of Acceptability is issued free of charge by the City of Johannesburg Health Department, through its Environmental Health offices in Regions A to G. The inspecting environmental health practitioner asks for training records for the person in charge and every food handler. ASC trains both online, with a QR-verified certificate, and on site from the ASC Johannesburg branch in Ferndale, Randburg.
The city’s food economy runs from the Joburg Market at City Deep, which traded 1.37 million tonnes of produce worth about R11.3 billion in 2024, roughly 45% of national municipal market sales (Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2025), to restaurants in Sandton, Rosebank and Maboneng, factories in Industria, Aeroton and Kya Sands, and spaza shops in Soweto, Alexandra and Orange Farm.
2 300+ learner ratings across all ASC programmes, including KFC and Spur franchise training · 6 600+ course enrolments across South Africa
Which course do I need in Johannesburg?
Pick your situation. Each one goes straight to the right course and price.
A Certificate of Acceptability for my premisesPersons in Charge · R1 699 · 16h A food handler certificate for workFood Handlers · R899 · 6h A spaza shop, tuck shop or market stallInformal Traders and Spaza Shops · R999 · 6h HACCP or GMP training for my teamThree HACCP levels from R1 195 · group pricing FSSC 22000, ISO 22000 or BRCGS certificationIntroduction, transition and implementation On-site or group training in JohannesburgBulk enrolment, one invoice, manager dashboardCertificate of Acceptability in Johannesburg
Who issues it, what the inspector checks, and the training you must show.
Read the full Certificate of Acceptability guide and the city by city R638 guide.
In Johannesburg the Certificate of Acceptability is issued by the City of Johannesburg, through its Environmental Health directorate, through its regional environmental health offices. An environmental health practitioner inspects the premises and recommends the certificate in the name of the person in charge, as Regulation 3 of R638 requires.
Whoever issues it, the inspection follows the same regulation. R638 requires the person in charge to be trained (regulation 10(1)(d)) and to keep a record that every food handler has been trained, and the inspector can ask for those records at any visit. Certificates from ASC show the accreditation details and a QR code, so the record is verifiable on the spot.
The Joburg Market at City Deep is the largest fresh produce trading floor in Africa and handles close to half of the value traded through South African municipal markets, so a large share of the fruit and vegetables sold in the country passes through Johannesburg agents, packers and hawkers who need Certificate of Acceptability training. Industrial and food-manufacturing areas we train in include City Deep, Industria, Aeroton, Wynberg, Kya Sands, Strijdom Park and Devland.
- Persons in Charge for the owner or manager named on the certificate
- Food Handlers for every person who touches food, drink or packaging
- Records: training register, illness reports, cleaning, temperature and pest control (regulation 10)
- Documents: the R638 toolkit gives you the policies, forms and registers, 15% off with a course
Where to apply in Johannesburg
Where and how to apply for a Certificate of Acceptability in Johannesburg.
City of Johannesburg Health Department, Environmental Health, at the regional office for the area where the premises is. Contact details below were checked against the municipality’s own website on 6 September 2026; phone before you travel, because offices, hours and numbers change.
Offices and contacts
| Office | Address |
|---|---|
| Region A (Midrand, Diepsloot, Ivory Park) | Alphen Square North, Unit 7, corner George and 16th Avenue, Randjies Park, Midrand |
| Region B (Randburg, Northcliff, Rosebank) | Corner Main Reef Road and Avon Street, Langlaagte |
| Region C (Roodepoort) | 2nd Floor, 100 Christiaan de Wet Road, Florida Park, Roodepoort |
| Region D (Soweto) | Jabulani Civic Centre, 1 Koma Road, Jabulani |
| Region E (Sandton, Alexandra) | 1st Floor, Building 1, 137 Daisy Street, Sandown, Sandton |
| Region F (inner city, Johannesburg South) | 6th Floor, CJ Cronje Building, 80 Loveday Street, corner Bree Street, Johannesburg |
| Region G (Ennerdale, Lenasia, Orange Farm) | Ennerdale Civic Centre, 2nd Floor, corner Katz and Smith Streets, Ennerdale Extension 9 |
Joburg Connect call centre 0860 562 874 for the right regional office and its hours.
Official pages and forms
How to apply
- Take the documents to the Environmental Health office for your region (list above).
- An environmental health practitioner inspects the premises against R638.
- The certificate is issued in the name of the person in charge and must be displayed on the premises.
- Attach a copy to the spaza or business licence application if you need one.
Documents to prepare
- Certified copy of the ID, passport or asylum permit of the person in charge (less than three months old)
- Proof of the business address: municipal account or a landlord affidavit
- Lease, title deed or owner consent for the premises
- Council land-use consent under the Land Use Scheme 2018 and the approved building plan with the layout
- For a spaza shop or general dealer, the business licence and fire certificate are applied for in the same pack; the Certificate of Acceptability is attached to it
Fee and turnaround
The City states there is no fee for the Certificate of Acceptability itself. A business licence costs R1 066.68 and the emergency services certificate R444 (City of Johannesburg registration annexure, 2024). Not published; ask the regional office when you submit.
What the inspector checks
Structure and finishes, hand-wash facilities, water and waste, temperature control, pest control, personal hygiene and the training record for every food handler (regulation 10(1)(d)).
By December 2024 Johannesburg had issued 617 Certificates of Acceptability in the spaza registration drive (Gauteng Provincial Government statement, 18 December 2024).
Local detail, verified September 2026
What is different about Johannesburg
- Who issues the certificate. The City of Johannesburg Health Department, Environmental Health, working from seven regional offices: Region A (Midrand), B (Langlaagte, for Randburg and Rosebank), C (Roodepoort), D (Jabulani, Soweto), E (Sandton), F (inner city, Loveday Street) and G (Ennerdale). The addresses are published in the City’s 2024 spaza and food premises registration annexure.
- No fee for the CoA, walk-in application. The same annexure lists the Certificate of Acceptability as free. What does cost money is the business licence for food from fixed premises (R1 066.68), food vending (R343.44) and a re-inspection to lift a prohibition notice (R1 696.37). You apply in person at the regional office for your premises. The City does not publish a turnaround time.
- Inspector capacity. Johannesburg had 221 environmental health practitioners in October 2024, about one for every 27 000 residents against the WHO guide of one per 10 000 (The Citizen, 18 October 2024). The Public Protector’s July 2026 report put the City at 50% of the benchmark, the best in Gauteng but still half of what is needed, which is why inspections are targeted and records matter.
- The spaza registration drive in numbers. By 2 February 2025 the City had received 2 179 registration applications, carried out 7 802 inspections, found 1 444 non-compliant facilities and closed 243 (Gauteng Department of Economic Development figures, TimesLIVE).
- 2026 enforcement is multi-department. On 25 May 2026 Environmental Health Services, JMPD, Region G CRUM, Building Development Management and EMS swept Drieziek in Orange Farm and shut stores for expired food, unsafe gas cylinder storage and living quarters inside food trading space (City of Johannesburg newsroom). Expect the same mix of officials at a Johannesburg inspection, not only the EHP.
- Public Protector findings, 17 July 2026. Only 14% of Johannesburg spaza shops held proper licences and about 72% of shops inspected across Gauteng failed hygiene standards, with R638 and labelling breaches, rodents and rat poison on food premises. Municipal managers were given 30 days to audit EHP capacity and 60 days to plan more inspections (The Citizen, Sowetan).
- The Joburg Market is under a court order. On 20 October 2025 the Gauteng High Court, on application by the Institute of Market Agents of South Africa, ordered the City and the market to repair cold storage, sanitation, fire and electrical systems at City Deep (IOL). The 63 hectare site has about 400 agents and more than 10 000 buyers a day (Frontiers, 2025), so agents, packers and hawkers there are being watched closely.
- Nearest ASC trainer. The ASC Johannesburg branch in Ferndale, Randburg, runs on-site and in-house training across the metro and the rest of Gauteng. Online courses are available to any Johannesburg premises with a phone or laptop.
Sources
- City of Johannesburg spaza and food premises registration annexure (PDF)
- The Citizen, 18 October 2024, on EHP numbers
- TimesLIVE, 2 February 2025, Gauteng registration figures
- City of Johannesburg newsroom, 2026 enforcement in Orange Farm
- The Citizen, Public Protector remedial action, July 2026
- Sowetan, 17 July 2026, Public Protector findings
- Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2025, Joburg Market figures
- IOL, 20 October 2025, High Court order on the Joburg Market
Courses Johannesburg businesses buy most
Six courses cover almost every food premises in Johannesburg.
- Food Safety Practices for Persons in Charge of Food Premises ★ 4.77 (101) R1 699 Enrol
- Basic Food Safety Practices for Food Handlers ★ 4.76 (58) R899 Enrol
- Basic Food Hygiene Awareness for Food Handlers ★ 4.86 (21) R420 Enrol
-
Food Safety Practices for Informal Traders and Spaza Shops
★ 4.88 (8)
R1 195R999 Enrol - Implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices ★ 5.00 (3) R1 950 Enrol
- Introduction to HACCP ★ 4.90 (10) R1 195 Enrol
- Basic Food Safety Document Templates Toolkit Templates Documents R699 View toolkit
Prices are the price you pay; no VAT is charged. The Basic Food Safety Bundle covers Persons in Charge, Food Handlers and Hygiene Awareness together at R2 264. HACCP for Supervisors and Advanced HACCP, FSSC 22000, ISO 22000, BRCGS and GLOBALG.A.P. are on the Enrol page.
Who trains with ASC in Johannesburg
Written for the food businesses that operate in Johannesburg
The Joburg Market moves 1.37 million tonnes of produce a year through about 400 agents and more than 10 000 daily buyers, and it is now under a High Court order to fix cold storage and sanitation. Agents’ floor staff, ripening room and packhouse crews need Food Handlers training, and the person in charge of each agency or packhouse needs the Persons in Charge course for the Certificate of Acceptability.
Sandton, Rosebank, Melrose Arch, Fourways, Braamfontein and Maboneng carry dense clusters of restaurants, hotel kitchens and franchise outlets, and Region B, Region E and Region F inspectors cover them. Persons in Charge for each manager, Food Handlers for the crew, one manager dashboard per group.
City Deep, Industria, Aeroton, Wynberg, Kya Sands, Strijdom Park and Devland hold food factories, cold stores and distribution depots. They need the R638 basics for every handler plus GMP and HACCP training that retail customers and certification auditors recognise.
Soweto, Alexandra, Diepsloot, Orange Farm and Lenasia are where the City’s registration drive and its 2026 enforcement sweeps are concentrated. The Informal Traders and Spaza Shops course covers exactly what the Region D and Region G inspectors look for: stock rotation, expiry dates, pest control and hand-washing.
On-site and in-house training
Train a Johannesburg kitchen, plant or franchise group on one dashboard.
The ASC Johannesburg branch in Ferndale, Randburg, runs on-site and in-house training across the metro and the rest of Gauteng, usually within a week of your quote.
- Send the learner countWhatsApp or the contact form. Quote within one working day, one invoice, no VAT.
- Learners train online or on sitePhone, tablet or laptop, self-paced for the R638 courses. On-site sessions through the Johannesburg branch.
- Manager dashboardSee who has finished, download certificates, and hand the inspector a training record for every site.
Add the documents. The Basic Food Safety Document Templates Toolkit (R699, 40+ editable Word and Excel policies, procedures, forms and checklists aligned to R638) is 15% off when you buy it with any R638 course. Tell us on WhatsApp +27 61 483 0381 or the contact form which course you are enrolling in, and we invoice both with the discount applied.
Questions from Johannesburg
What Johannesburg food businesses ask before they enrol.
Anything else, message us on WhatsApp during office hours or use the support page.
Which City of Johannesburg office issues the Certificate of Acceptability?
The Environmental Health office of the City of Johannesburg Health Department for the region where the premises stands. There are seven: Region A in Midrand, Region B in Langlaagte, Region C in Roodepoort, Region D at Jabulani in Soweto, Region E in Sandton, Region F in Loveday Street in the inner city and Region G in Ennerdale. The addresses are in the ‘Where to apply’ section above.
Does the City of Johannesburg charge for a Certificate of Acceptability?
No. The City’s 2024 registration annexure lists the Certificate of Acceptability as free. The business licence for food from fixed premises is R1 066.68 and a re-inspection to lift a prohibition notice is R1 696.37, so it is cheaper to pass the first inspection than to fail it.
What happens at a City of Johannesburg food premises inspection?
An environmental health practitioner checks the structure and finishes, hand-wash facilities, water and waste, temperature control, pest control and personal hygiene against R638, and asks for the training record of the person in charge and every food handler. Since 2025 the City has run joint operations with JMPD, Building Development Management and EMS, so gas storage, building plans and zoning can be checked in the same visit.
Will a Johannesburg inspector accept an online ASC certificate?
R638 requires training and a record of it (regulation 10(1)(d)); it does not prescribe classroom or online delivery. ASC certificates carry a QR code that the inspector can scan to verify the learner and the course. ASC is a SAATCA registered provider, TC 065, for the R638 Persons in Charge course, and a FoodBev SETA accredited provider (587/00337/1900).
How do I train a Johannesburg kitchen, plant or franchise group?
Send the learner count on WhatsApp or the contact form. The ASC Johannesburg branch in Ferndale, Randburg, runs on-site sessions across the metro, or the group trains online on one invoice with a manager dashboard that shows who has finished and holds the certificates for the inspector.
Also serving
Food safety training near Johannesburg.
This page covers the whole City of Johannesburg: Sandton, Randburg, Roodepoort, Soweto, Midrand, Fourways, Rosebank, Braamfontein, Lenasia, Diepsloot, Alexandra and Orange Farm. Centurion, Pretoria, Mamelodi and Soshanguve are on the Tshwane page; Kempton Park, Germiston, Boksburg, Benoni, Springs and Tembisa are on the Ekurhuleni page; Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg are on the Vaal Triangle page. Krugersdorp, Randfontein and the rest of the West Rand are served for on-site training from the Johannesburg branch and online.