Why Woolworths pulled frozen rice
Recall not linked to deadly SA listeria strain
The listeriosis strain which caused Woolworths SA to recall one of its frozen rice products on Tuesday is not linked to the deadly ST6 outbreak that has left more than 180 people dead across South Africa.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said the outbreak of listeriosis linked to frozen corn – and possibly to other frozen vegetables – had been ongoing in five European Union member states since 2015.
Woolworths SA recalled its frozen savoury rice product as a precautionary measure.
The product contains frozen corn and is reportedly sourced from Belgium.
This follows an alert issued by Hungary’s Food Safety Agency which, on June 29, banned the marketing of all frozen vegetables and frozen mixed vegetables produced by the Greenyard Factory between August 2016 and June 2018‚ and ordered their immediate withdrawal and recall.
All freezing activity at the plant was stopped in June.
In its alert on Wednesday‚ the institute said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported that as of June 15 2018‚ 47 cases and nine deaths had been identified. Countries affected are Austria‚ Denmark‚ Finland‚ Sweden and Britain.
“Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis has shown that the human cases are linked to frozen corn and several other frozen vegetable products produced at the Greenyard Factory in Hungary. “The outbreak strain is L
monocytogenes sequence type 6 (ST6)‚ but this strain is not related to the ST6 strain which caused the recent listeriosis outbreak in South Africa.
“NICD scientists have confirmed this with ECDC colleagues‚” the institute said in its alert.
It said the centre had advised that to reduce the risk of
L monocytogenes infection due to frozen vegetables‚ consumers should thoroughly cook frozen vegetables not labelled as ready-to-eat‚ even those that are sometimes consumed without cooking‚ for example in salads and smoothies.
“We encourage all persons at high risk for listeriosis to cook frozen vegetables before eating (cook thoroughly in boiling water or heat to temperatures greater than 70°C).”
The institute said people at high risk for listeriosis included pregnant women‚ infants‚ people older than 65 and anyone with a weakened immune system.
Woolworths said listeria bacteria were easily destroyed by cooking.
“The Frozen Savoury Rice Mix product is uncooked and frozen and so requires cooking before consumption.”
It said thorough cooking made the product safe.
“We are voluntarily recalling this product as a precautionary measure‚ on the global instruction of the Hungarian Food Safety Agency.
“None of our other frozen sweetcorn or vegetable products are affected.”
Listeriosis is a disease caused by listeria bacteria.
These bacteria can be found in soil‚ water and contaminated food‚ according to the institute.
Animals and food products like vegetables can become contaminated from these sources.