Third meat brand pulled over listeria fear

JohaNNesBurg: A South African supermarket chain has withdrawn a third brand of sausages after the world’s worst listeria outbreak claimed at least 183 lives since January last year.

Shoprite said it would no longer be selling Farmer’s Deli sausages as a precautionary measure, since “the presence of Listeria monocytogenes was identified in an initial testing of a single batch of red Viennas.”

It said more tests were needed to confirm “harmful levels of Listeria bacteria”.

“The results of the further testing will take another five working days.

“In the meantime, the Shoprite Group has removed all Farmer’s Deli Red and Smoked Viennas from its shelves until the product gets the all clear.”

Health officials say the source of the outbreak was an Enterprise Food plant, 300km north-east of the South African capital of Pretoria.

The factory produced a popular range of ready-to-eat chilled products, including luncheon meat and Frankfurter sausages.

It was the third brand to be withdrawn following a ban on products made by Enterprise, which is owned by Tiger Brands, and those made by Rainbow Chickens.

Neighbouring Namibia this week registered its first listeriosis case and has banned imports of South African meat products.

Listeria contamination can result in a flu-like illness, infection of the bloodstream and, in severe cases, infection of the brain which can prove fatal.