A spotless SHE file won't stop an EHP from padlocking your gate. Here's the R638 food safety law every Durban Safety Officer needs to know before their next audit. I've sat across the table from Safety Officers who could recite their scaffolding certificates, machinery service records, and DOL paperwork from memory. Every box ticked. Every file immaculate. And I've still watched their site get padlocked. Not by a Department of Labour inspector. By someone most Safety Officers never think to plan for: an Environmental Health Practitioner (EHP) from eThekwini Health. Check the part that catches people off guard — while you're focused on the OHS Act, the EHP is working from a completely different piece of legislation. If your workplace canteen, staff kitchen, or construction camp kitchen isn't compliant with it, your entire site is exposed. It doesn't matter how good the rest of your file is. The DOL Isn't the Only Authority That Can Close Your Gate ...
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