Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 04-03-2018
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has revealed the origin of the listeriosis outbreak in South Africa has been traced to polony from the Enterprise Foods factory in Polokwane.
The bacterium that is naturally found in the environment and commonly occurs in soil, water, vegetation and in the faeces of some animals has killed Over 180 people since January 2017 and more than 900 other cases have been reported.
Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs), together with the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), and officials from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) visited the food production site in Polokwane.
The Results from this factory were revealed at midnight on Saturday prompting the Health Minister to hold an urgent media briefing in which he informed the public to avoid all processed meat products immediately.
More than 16 environmental samples from the Enterprise Polokwane factory tested positive for the listeriosis monocytogenes strain ST 6.
Motsoaledi says processed meat are listed as no go zones and urged pregnant women to avoid any ready to eat meat “like the plague”.
“While we know that polony is definitely implicated, there is a risk of cross-contamination of other ready-to-eat processed meat products, either at production, distribution or retail. We advise members of the public to avoid all processed meat products that are sold as ready-to-eat.”
In addition to the Polokwane facility, Listeria has been traced to another Enterprise facility in Germiston on the East Rand, and a Rainbow chicken facility in the Free State, but further tests were needed as the sequence type was not yet known.
Motsoaledi says the Health Department has issued a recall of the cold meat products for Enterprise and RCL.
“The National Consumer Commission has, in terms of Section 60(2) of the Consumer Protection Act, this morning issued manufacturers concerned with safety recall notices.”
Tiger Brands has confirmed it will remove all Enterprise products from shelves following the recall, while Shoprite says it started removing all ready-to eat-processed meat products produced by Enterprise Foods and Rainbow Chicken from its perishable departments and delicatessens.
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