“The path to food safety is not a straight way, nor is it an easy one apparently but when it is your passion, it is worth the pain and patience”. This is according to Sinawo Mzinga. Currently he is employed as a Quality Assurance Supervisor in the food industry and he feels he has found his calling. This in opposition to his family but with patience he has made it happen.

I had the pleasure of meeting this dynamic young man recently in Cape Town. Our interest was piqued by the Food Science and Technology Professional Network event in August. What was this group and what were their objectives? We had to know more.

Sinawo is one of the organisers of the event hosted this year at Cape Penisula University of Technology. He and the other team members, Inathi Magida, Vusi Mshayisa, Athenkosi Kupiso and Zizipho Dube have been organizing this event since 2016. Numbers have grown from 40 to 80 delegates with a number of corporate sponsors for the event. The objective of the event is to chat about hot topics for the industry and ranged from personal financial management to certification.

The launch of the chocolate factory and micro brewery at CPUT were special events. This is a formal event to make sure delegates take it seriously. There are plans to take the event to Johannesburg next year.

Sinawo is the administrator of a FaceBook group: Food Science and Technology Graduates of South Africa. This is a very active group with more than 1000 followers. This group focusses on helping graduates find employment. Sinawo is passionate about helping in this way to make a difference in the community.

Listening to his story was very touching to hear a story about someone who is passionate about the industry and protecting the consumer even at great personal costs.

Sinawo makes use of every opportunity to get the food safety message out and chats regularly to radio and even TV recently. We salute your efforts and look forward to working with you in the future.