LISTERIA OUTBREAK: SOUTH AFRICAN NEIGHBOURS BAN MEAT EXPORTS
Lawrence McDougall said his firm was "being extra cautious and vigilant" and abiding by the government's recall order
SEVERAL Southern African states have banned processed meat from South Africa after it said it had identified the source of a food poisoning outbreak.
The government blamed the sausage known as polony for the listeria poisoning that has killed 180 people. It advised people not to eat any processed meat.
It ordered a recall of the product, prompting shops to clear their shelves.
Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana and Zambia followed suit, all ordering a recall or suspending imports.
The Mozambican ministry of agriculture and food security "asks that all owners of establishments that commercialise these products start to withdraw from the shelves due to the danger that this constitutes to health", it said in a statement.
It took South Africa more than a year to trace the outbreak.
There have been 948 cases of listeria poisoning in South Africa reported since January 2017, according to Reuters - which the UN calls the largest outbreak ever.
It is believed to have originated in a factory in the northern city of Polokwane, which makes Enterprise Food products. The chief executive of Tiger Brands, which owns the Enterprise label, insisted on Monday that "no direct link" had been proved between its products and any of the 180 deaths.
Even so, Lawrence McDougall said his firm was "being extra cautious and vigilant" and abiding by the government's recall order.
A plant owned by a second company, RCL Foods, is also under suspicion. It has suspended meat production too. bleach.
Members of the public are demanding refunds for some of the meat products they bought and some are returning the goods.
Outside Enterprise sites in South Africa, there were lines of angry consumers as well as small retailers. They had gathered to demand refunds on their purchases of ready-to-eat meat products that include polony — a local version of baloney sausage — sliced ham, and Frankfurterstyle sausages.
"I've eaten already some polony and Russian (sausage). I don't know, maybe I can get some disease," said Bongani Mavuso, a taxi driver, as he stood in line outside Enterprise's factory shop in Germiston, Johannesburg. "I'm just coming to collect my money."
Lawrence MacDougall, the chief executive of Tiger Brands, which owns Enterprise, denied that its products had been shown to be responsible for the deaths. "There is no direct link with the deaths to our products," MacDougall told a news conference.
He did acknowledge that the government had linked the ST6 strain of listeria bacteria detected in Enterprise facilities with the outbreak that has resulted in 180 deaths.
"We are being extra cautious and vigilant, we are recalling all products made from the two facilities," he said, adding that the government had only ordered the company to withdraw three product lines.
"Any loss of life is tragic. It is devastating for me to have our products linked to this outbreak."
Enterprise-branded products accounted for 28.2 percent of processed meat sales in South Africa in 2017.
South Africa's two largest supermarket chains, Shoprite and Pick n Pay, also pulled products made by Rainbow Chickens after Motsoaledi confirmed that listeriosis had been identified in samples taken from one of its facilities. After health authorities ordered a recall of polony, supermarkets like Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Spar and Woolworths cleared it from their shelves, along with bacon, sausages and other processed meat products.
Customers descended on the outlets to return their purchases and demand a refund.
"I already packed my kids' lunch with this product, so I'm shocked," said Tshepo Makhura, a 37-year-old call centre agent.
"I lost trust with Enterprise. I'll be scared even if they say this problem is solved. I would rather go back to peanut butter and jam."
Pregnant women have been advised to steer clear of any processed meat
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi warned people to "avoid all processed meat products that are sold as ready to eat".
He told pregnant women to avoid any processed meat "like the plague", reported Times Live.
A shortage of the solution used for testing for the listeria bacteria meant the results of the tests at the Polokwane factory were delayed by two weeks, an official at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases told Times Live.
The listeria bacteria is hard to test for, as it is not homogenously distributed in food. It can also
"hide away" in cracks or niches in factories. Consumers who ud have kept polony products in their fridges were advised to disinfect ts them with diluted fNational Institute for Communicable at Diseases (NICD) n said the bacterium is widely distributed aes in natural environment such as soil, water and contaminated ry, it h oe food.
Companies implicated in the outbreak are yet to make their statements public.
The World Health Organisation has described the outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa in which 180 people have died since January 2017 as the largest ever recorded globally.
Since January 2017 948 people have contracted listeriosis, which is caused by bacteria from soil, water, vegetation and animal feces known to contaminate fresh food — notably fresh meat. According to official figures, at least 180 people have subsequently died. The infection mainly affects children and has a three-week incubation period, which makes it difficult to track. Contamination in humans — especially those with compromised immune systems — can result in flu-like illness, infection of the bloodstream and, in severe cases, infection of the brain which can prove fatal.
The United Nations had previously said that South Africa's listeriosis outbreak is believed to be the largest-ever worldwide. What is listeriosis?
It can be caught from food containing listeria bacteria, or close contact with farm animals
Cases usually involve unpasteurised milk or dairy products, such as camembert and brie
Pre-packed foods, including sandwiches and paté, can also contain listeria
Symptoms include high temperature, flu-like symptoms, vomiting and diarrhoea
Most people infected display no symptoms, but elderly and very young people are vulnerable