JOHANNESBURG, March 4 (Reuters) - South Africans were told not to consume “ready to eat” processed meat on Sunday as the government linked a listeria outbreak which has killed 180 people to a sausage meat made by the country’s biggest consumer foods group.

The meat, known as “Polony”, made by Tiger Brands unit Enterprise Food and by RCL Foods, would be recalled from stores, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said.

“We advise members of the public to avoid all processed meat products that are sold as ready-to-eat,” Motsoaledi said.

Tiger Brands said it was cooperating with authorities, while RCL Foods said it would issue a statement soon.

Motsoaledi said although RCL Foods had not been identified as a source of the outbreak, a facility owned by the firm was under investigation. Inquiries were ongoing at a second facility run by Enterprise Foods to establish if it too had contributed.

Listeria, which causes flu-like symptoms, nausea, diarrhoea, infection of the blood stream and brain, has led to 180 fatalities and 948 reported cases since January 2017.

“We can now conclude scientifically that the source of the present outbreak is the Enterprise Food production facility located in Polokwane,” Motsoaledi told a briefing at the offices of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).

“We are all extremely concerned by listeriosis – we all want to find the source or sources of listeriosis, together with the government,” Nevashnee Naicker, a Tiger Brands spokeswoman, said.

The minister said the National Consumer Commission had issued Enterprise Foods and RCL Foods with orders to recall their food products distributed locally or for export.

“We are committed to ensuring that all Enterprise products, as identified, will be recalled as part of the directive received,” Naicker added.

Motsoaledi said due to the risk of cross-contamination of other ready-to-eat processed meat products, Viennas, Russians, Frankfurters, sausages, and other “cold meat” products that are typically not cooked before eating posed a risk.

South African supermarket operator Pick n Pay said it had withdrawn the meat products from its shelves.

“We are urgently withdrawing them from our stores,” Tamra Capstick-Dale, said in a statement on behalf of the grocer.

“All fridges and food preparation areas in our stores will now be re-cleaned to prevent any cross-contamination. Recalled meat is being isolated and will be safely destroyed.”

Listeriosis poses a higher risk for newborns, the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with weak immunity, he said. (Reporting by James Macharia Editing by Alexander Smith)</s>South Africans were told on Sunday not to consume ready-to-eat processed meat as the government identified the source of a listeria outbreak that has killed 180 people as a cold meat product made by the country’s biggest consumer foods group.

The meat, known as“polony”, made by Tiger Brands unit Enterprise Food and by RCL Foods, would be recalled from stores, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said.

“We advise members of the public to avoid all processed meat products that are sold as ready-to-eat,” Motsoaledi said, adding that, due to the risk of cross-contamination, all such foods were a potential health hazard.

Scientists have been working for months trying to identify the origin of the listeriosis outbreak in the country and have now made a breakthrough.

Motsoaledi says that more than 16 environmental samples from the Enterprise factory in Polokwane tested positive for listeriosis.

“We can now conclude scientifically that the source of the present outbreak is the Enterprise Food production facility located in Polokwane,” Motsoaledi told a briefing at the offices of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases.

Tiger Brands said it was cooperating with authorities and RCL Foods said it would suspend all production of its Rainbow Polony brand.

Motsoaledi said although RCL Foods had not been identified as a source of the outbreak, a facility owned by the firm was under investigation. Inquiries were ongoing at a second facility run by Enterprise Foods to establish if it too had contributed.

Listeriosis, the infection caused by the bacteria, causes flu-like symptoms, nausea, diarrhoea and infection of the blood and brain. It poses a higher risk for newborns, the elderly, pregnant women and people with weak immunity.

The outbreak has caused 180 fatalities and 948 reported cases since January 2017.

Tiger Brands spokeswoman Nevashnee Naicker said:“We are all extremely concerned by listeriosis – we all want to find the source or sources of listeriosis, together with the government.”

RCL Foods chief legal officer Stephen Heath said the company was recalling its polony products even though test results were still pending.

“RCL Foods is sharing all results from its testing, both internally and externally, with the relevant authorities,” Heath said.“We will continue to take every precaution to safeguard our products as well as our consumers.

South African supermarket operator Pick n Pay said it had withdrawn the products from its shelves. “All fridges and food preparation areas in our stores will now be re-cleaned to prevent any cross-contamination. Recalled meat is being isolated and will be safely destroyed,” spokeswoman Tamra Capstick-Dale said in a statement.</s>Tiger Brands has asked consumers to remove any Enterprise ready-to-eat meat products from their fridges and place in a plastic bag - away from other foods. Picture: Karen Sandison/African News Agency/ANA

Johannesburg - Tiger Brands has asked consumers to remove any Enterprise ready-to-eat meat products from their fridges and place in a plastic bag - away from other foods.

This comes after Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced on Sunday that processed food manufacturers Enterprise and Rainbow Chicken Limited (RCL) have been issued with safety recall notices following the listeriosis outbreak in South Africa.

The Enterprise food production facility in Polokwane in Limpopo has been identified as the source of the current listeriosis outbreak, he told journalists at a media briefing in Johannesburg.

Tiger Brands, which owns Enterprise Foods, confirmed that Enterprise was undertaking a full national recall on all its ready-to-eat meat products.

Tiger Brands CEO Lawrence Macdowell said: “Food safety remains the highest priority at Tiger Brands where we always place consumers’ health and safety above all else. Therefore, we can confirm that we have, with immediate effect, undertaken a full national recall of the affected Enterprise ready-to-eat meat product range.”

The company said: "We will be setting up a 24 -hour consumer helpline to assist anyone requiring more information on the recall. We are working closely with all relevant authorities to conduct the recall. We have suspended operations at both manufacturing facilities (Polokwane and Germiston) and stopped supply to retailers.

"Consumer safety remains our highest priority and we will be rolling out a full communication plan as soon as possible to reach everyone who has bought Enterprise ready-to-eat meat products. As per the Minister of Health’s instructions, please remove any Enterprise ready-to-eat meat products from your fridge and place in a plastic bag - away from other foods. We are working on a process on how to engage with consumers around the recall and will revert as soon as possible."

Tiger Brands said it would be meeting with the National Consumer Commission (NCC) on Monday.

"It is imperative for us to follow the NCC guidelines in managing the #EnterpriseRecall. We will provide an update as soon as we have more clarity.

At Sunday's media briefing alongside the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), Motsoaledi said the number of lab-confirmed cases attributed to the food-borne disease now stood at 948 with a fatality rate of 27% cases.

Also read: #Listeriosis: Enterprise and Rainbow Chicken issued with recall notices

According to Motsoaledi, the said cases were confirmed following government’s efforts in tracing the source of the disease outbreak which is currently the biggest in the history of SA.

He said a team from NICD recently interviewed 109 people as means of establishing what they ate just a month before falling ill.

“Eighty-five percent of the people reported eating ready-to-eat processed meats of which polony was the most common followed by viennas, sausages and other cold meats,” Motsoaledi said.

Listeria is a form of bacteria found in the environment and commonly occurs in soil, water, vegetation and in the faeces of some animals.

It can contaminate a variety of food types, including meat and dairy products.

While listeria cannot be spread from one person to another, pregnant women and infants, as well as people with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk of contracting it.

Read more: Enterprise facility fingered as source of #Listeriosis outbreak

Motsoaledi highlighted that in January, nine children under the age of five years were rushed to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital due to febrile gastroenteritis.

On the same day, he said, environmental practitioners visited the creche were these children were and took samples of two polony brands which were later traced back to Enterprise and Rainbow Chicken Limited.

Motsoaledi said samples have also been taken from an Enterprise facility in Germiston adding more investigations would be conducted including research of samples linked to a Rainbow Chicken facility in Wolwehoek, near Sasolburg in the Free State.

In a bid to curb the further spread of the disease, the Department of Health said the National Consumer Commission (NCC) has issued manufactures concerned with safety recall notices. Motsoaledi urged the public to avoid all processed meat products that are sold as ready-to-eat even from other brands.

“While we know that polony is definitely implicated, there is a risk of cross-contamination of other ready-to-eat processed meat products. This is because listeria on the exterior casing (packaging) can be transferred to other products it comes into contact with,” he said.

Following the announcement, retailers across the country rushed to remove the listeriosis-linked products from their shelves.</s>Polony from the Enterprise factory in Polokwane, Limpopo, has been fingered as the culprit behind the Listeriosis outbreak in the country.

“The source of the present outbreak can be confirmed to be the Enterprise food production facility in Polokwane,” said Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi on Sunday.

Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs), together with the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), and officials from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) had visited the food production site in Polokwane.

Results from this factory became available at midnight, prompting the Health Minister to hold an urgent media briefing in which he informed the public to avoid all processed meat products immediately.

“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,” said the Minister.

Processed meat products such as polony, viennas, russians, frankfurters, sausages and cold meat products were listed as no go zones by the Minister.

The cause of the outbreak strain ST6 was confirmed in 16 environmental samples collected from the Enterprise facility.

In addition to the Polokwane facility, another Enterprise facility located in Germiston, Gauteng, tested positive for Listeria but it is yet to be confirmed if it is the same ST6 strain.

While another facility, known as the Rainbow Chicken Limited (RCL), tested positive for Listeria, samples from this facility are not same strain that is causing the outbreak.

“Such contamination of ready-to-eat processed meat products constitutes a health risk. Also, over 10% of environmental samples collected by the EHPs at this facility have tested positive for L. monocytogenes,” said the Minister.

With this in mind, the Health Department issued a recall of these cold meat products for Enterprise and RCL.</s>JOHANNESBURG: South African supermarkets began a mass recall on Sunday (Mar 4) of meat products made at a facility that health officials say was the source of a listeriosis outbreak that has killed 180 since January 2017.

Listeriosis is caused by a bacteria found in soil, water, vegetation and animal faeces, and can contaminate food, especially fresh meat, dairy and seafood. It is prevented by basic hygiene and washing food.

The country's second largest supermarket chain, Pick n Pay, said it had "acted immediately to withdraw all products from the manufacturing sites identified by the Department of Health".

"All fridges and food preparation areas in our stores will now be re-cleaned to prevent any cross-contamination. Recalled meat is being isolated and will be safely destroyed," Pick n Pay, which has 1,420 stores in South Africa, said in a statement. It warned that "a very broad range of retailers" could be affected.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi earlier revealed that the current outbreak began at a facility run by Enterprise foods in Polokwane, the capital of northeastern Limpopo province. He warned that two other sites could also be affected.

Products including locally popular polony sausages, also known as baloney, made at the Enterprise plant would be subject to immediate safety recalls, he added.

Enterprise said in a statement that it "prioritises the health and safety of consumers above all else".

"We are committed to ensuring that all Enterprise products, as identified, will be recalled as part of the directive received," it said.

The National Consumer Commission will now work with manufacturers to ensure no affected products are sold, Motsoaledi said.

"The safety recall will affect the manufacturers' entire distribution networks, both domestic and international," he added.

"We advise members of the public to avoid all processed meat products that are sold as ready-to-eat."

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said that 948 cases of listeriosis had been confirmed since January 1, 2017, leading to 180 deaths.

The death toll stood at 172 as recently as February 22.

The United Nations has previously said South Africa's listeriosis outbreak is believed to be the largest-ever worldwide.

The disease mainly affects children and has a three-week incubation period, making it difficult to track.

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

People with compromised immune systems, like some of those living with AIDS and pregnant women, are at a heightened risk, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).</s>The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) has issued a recall of all products from the Enterprise and Rainbow Chicken Limited companies. Tests on samples from those factories have been found to have traces of the Listeria bacteria, a cause of food poisoning. Pick n Pay, along with other supermarket chains, has acted swiftly to withdraw all products from Enterprise and RCL from its shelves.

“Given the findings of Listeria, it is clear that there has been a drop in the quality controls at these facilities. They have, as of this morning, been issued with safety recall notices according to Section 60(2) of the Consumer Protection Act,” said dti Director General Lionel October.

Results which came in at midnight confirmed that polony from the Enterprise facility was the cause of the current Listeriosis outbreak, prompting Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi to call an urgent press briefing.

While Rainbow Chicken Limited (RCL), tested positive for Listeria, its samples did not test positive for the strain ST6, which is the cause of the outbreak. Nonetheless, it would also be pulled from the shelves as it posed a health risk, October said.

Motsoaledi said, “Such contamination of ready-to-eat processed meat products constitutes a health risk. Also, over 10% of environmental samples collected by the EHPs at this facility have tested positive for L. Monocytogenes.”

The Health Department issued a recall of these cold meat products from 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,” said Motsoaledi.

Last week Grocott’s Mail reported that one listeriosis-linked death in Grahamstown had been confirmed by the Eastern Cape Department of Health. This information followed public news from Sarah Baartman District Municipality that stated two deaths had occurred in Grahamstown as a result of the bacteria. While the report named water as the potential source, the claim was strongly refuted by Health Department Spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo.

At today’s press briefing, Motsoaledi said, “The source of the present outbreak can be confirmed to be the Enterprise food production facility in Polokwane.”

Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs), together with the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), and officials from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) had visited the food production site in Polokwane.

Results from this factory became available at midnight, prompting the Health Minister to hold an urgent media briefing in which he informed the public to avoid all processed meat products immediately.

“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,” said the Minister.

Processed meat products such as polony, viennas, russians, frankfurters, sausages and cold meat products were listed as no-go zones by the Minister.

The cause of the outbreak strain ST6 was confirmed in 16 environmental samples collected from the Enterprise facility.

In addition to the Polokwane facility, another Enterprise facility located in Germiston, Gauteng, tested positive for Listeria but it is yet to be confirmed if it is the same ST6 strain.

Pick n Pay said following Motsoaledi’s announcement, they had acted immediately to withdraw all products from the manufacturing sites identified by the Department of Health.

“Enterprise and Rainbow supply a very broad range of retailers across South Africa,” the national retailer said in a statement. “All Enterprise products (including the Bokkie, Renown, Lifestyle and Mieliekip brands) have already been recalled by the company concerned and we are urgently withdrawing them from our stores.

“In addition, all ready-to-eat products such as polony and russian sausages manufactured at the Rainbow facility in Sasolburg are also being withdrawn. This action is taking place in all Pick n Pay and Boxer stores. In addition, as a precaution, Pick n Pay branded chicken polony, manufactured by Rainbow, is also being withdrawn.”

The retailer said all fridges and food preparation areas in our stores would be re-cleaned to prevent any cross-contamination.

“Recalled meat is being isolated and will be safely destroyed.”

Any customer concerned that they may have bought a ready-to-eat meat product linked to the outbreak could return it to their stores for a full refund, Pick n Pay said.

Similar action by Shoprite was reported on ENCA https://www.enca.com/south-africa/tiger-brands-shoprite-remove-listeriosis-products

Together with the Public Service Accountability Monitoring (PSAM) Grocott’s Mail has attempted to get clarity from the Makana Sub-District of the Eastern Cape Department of Health on monitoring and containment of listeriosis in Makana, as well as further confirmation of cases.

According to the National Department of Health’s “Clinical Guidelines on Management and Control of Foodborne Diseases” issued in 2011 an outbreak is defined as “two or more linked patients presenting with acute gastrointestinal, neurological, hepatic or hemorrhagic manifestation after having a shared/common meal/beverage during the past 72 hours.”

At this time, Grocott’s Mail cannot confirm an outbreak of listeriosis in Grahamstown.

Though the Clinical Guidelines state that two linked patients must have consumed the contaminated source within 72 hours of expressing symptoms, infections like listeriosis are exceptions.

Nationally, provincial outbreak response teams are to be created as a way to expedite and ensure proper follow through of procedures. PSAM nor Grocott’s Mail found evidence to suggest the Eastern Cape had an outbreak response team.

In 2017, 557 cases were reported across all nine provinces, with 62 percent from Gauteng. As of 16 January, 764 cases had been reported nationally with 212 in Johannesburg.

Grocott’s Mail spoke to three local healthcare workers confidentially and were told that informative pamphlets about listeriosis were distributed to the community within the last month by sub-district officials. One source stated that they did not believe healthcare workers at the facility had been educated about listeriosis or the correct reporting procedures. Another said that there were no posters or signs around the facility except those urging patrons to wash their hands.

The Eastern Cape Department of Health was approached regarding public awareness and education efforts but have not yet commented at this time.

The reported claim that the Grahamstown case was a result of drinking contaminated water (Sarah Baartman News) has not been confirmed and was strongly denied by Kupelo.

Grocott’s Mail and PSAM will continue to report on this issue to our readers.
• Reporting in partnership with PSAM.

The Health Minister reiterated his call for high risk people such as pregnant women, very young infants, elderly persons and anyone with a weakened immune system due to HIV and cancer to completely avoid all processed meats. “The recall of these products does not mean that members of the public must now relax and stop following food safety rules,” said Motsoaledi. General food safety rules advised by the Health Department include:

 * Wash your hands before handling food or when coming back from the bathroom.

 * Cook food thoroughly.

 * Separate raw food from cooked food.

 * Store food at an appropriate temperature.

 * Wash uncooked food with clean running water.

 * Only use pasteurised or boiled milk products. National Institute for Communicable Diseases Head Juno Thomas said the public can use bleach to disinfect and thoroughly clean their fridges to avoid contamination. Visit the Department of Health website for more information on food-borne disease and how to prevent it. 5 keys 2 safer food



MORE ABOUT LISTERIOSIS IN GRAHAMSTOWN</s>TAKING ACTION: A supermarket staff member removes all Enterprise processed meat products from its shelves after a customer returned one of them yesterday.

JOHANNESBURG - RCL Foods said on Monday its Wolwehoek processing plant had suspended all production of its Rainbow Polony brand and was in the process of recalling the product from its entire customer base over a listeriosis outbreak.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said on Sunday processed food manufacturers Enterprise, a division of Tiger Brands, and Rainbow Chicken Limited had been issued with safety recall notices following the outbreak.

Have you read: Pick n Pay removes listeriosis-linked food from shelves

RCL Foods said on Monday its Wolwehoek processing plant taking its precautionary measures "despite the fact that the results from testing of its environmental samples are still pending".

"It must be highlighted that the specific strain of pathogen responsible for the outbreak has not been linked to the Wolwehoek facility," the company said, adding that it was continuing detailed discussions and working closely with representatives from the depart of health, the department of agriculture, forests and fisheries and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases.

Also read: WATCH: Listeriosis outbreak - What customers should do now!</s>Tiger Brands, which owns Enterprise Foods, on Sunday issued a statement following an announcement by the health department that the outbreak of listeriosis, which has claimed 180 lives in South Africa, has been traced to an Enterprise Foods facility in Polokwane.

This is the company's unedited statement:

Enterprise Foods was alerted today [Sunday] about the need to recall identified Enterprise products.

We are all extremely concerned by Listeriosis - we all want to find the source or sources of Listeriosis, together with government. As a company that prioritises the health and safety of consumers above all else, we are committed to ensuring that all Enterprise products, as identified, will be recalled as part of the directive received. We are working very closely with the officials at present to conduct the process and will provide updates to the public on this matter.

The company proactively amplified its testing for Listeria and can confirm that we had found a low detection of a strain of listeria in some products on 14 February but the presence of the ST6 strain has not been confirmed by our tests. The company has furthermore sent its samples to an external laboratory to test for the strain itself and should receive the results tomorrow.

We have been actively engaging the Department of Health and the NICD on our findings and have openly collaborated with the DoH and the NICD on these findings and the actions taken to date to actively address our findings. We await confirmation of the strain testing to confirm the strain. In the meantime, we reaffirm our commitment to recall the identified Enterprise products as soon as possible.

ALSO READ: Listeriosis Traced To Enterprise Cold Meats Facility In Limpopo</s>A factory of Enterprise Foods, a subsidiary of Tiger Brands, has been identified as the source of the world’s largest outbreak of listeria.

 

On Sunday afternoon, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced that polony and products from the Enterprise factory in Polokwane‚ Limpopo, were the source of the outbreak.

 

In a statement, Tiger Brands said it had been alerted on Sunday regarding the need to recall identified Enterprise products. 

 

“We are all extremely concerned by listeriosis – we all want to find the source or sources of listeriosis, together with the government,” the group said.

"As a company that prioritises the health and safety of consumers above all else, we are committed to ensuring that all Enterprise products, as identified, will be recalled as part of the directive received. We are working very closely with the officials at present to conduct the process and will provide updates to the public on this matter.” 

 

More than 16 environmental samples from the Polokwane factory tested positive for the listeriosis monocytogenes strain ST 6.

The results from the factory were confirmed at midnight on Saturday at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) as the strain to blame for the outbreak that killed 27% of patients in South Africa.

 

The group said the company had proactively amplified its testing for listeria and confirmed it had found a low detection of a strain of listeria in some products on February 14, though the presence of the ST6 strain had not been confirmed by its tests.

The group has furthermore sent its samples to an external laboratory to test for the strain itself and should receive the results on Monday. 

 

“We have been actively engaging the Department of Health and the NICD on our findings and have openly collaborated with the department and the NICD on these findings and the actions taken to date to actively address our findings. We await confirmation of the strain testing to confirm the strain. In the meantime, we reaffirm our commitment to recall the identified Enterprise products as soon as possible,” the statement said.

 

Motsoaledi said consumers should avoid all processed meat products sold as ready to eat. He told pregnant women to avoid any processed meat “like the plague”.

 

“The National Consumer Commission has issued the manufacturer involved [Enterprise] with food recall notices‚” the minister said.

 

This particular strain of listeria monocytogenes that infected so many people is sequence-type 6 and is particularly “virulent”. It is transmitted from food.

 

It has led to at least 180 deaths and infected almost 1‚000 people.

 

“It is the worst outbreak in global history‚” Prof Lucia Anelich from Anelich Consulting Food Safety Solutions said earlier.

Who is affected by listeriosis?

Listeriosis affects the elderly‚ those with compromised immune systems such as people with Aids and diabetics, and newborn babies

 

The disease is particularly scary for pregnant woman who may have no symptoms when being infected with the bacteria but can pass it onto their babies.

 

It is believed the number of stillbirths may have increased as a result of pregnant women infected with it‚ said Juno Thomas‚ head of enteric diseases at the NICD.

 

One of the reasons it is so hard to find is because‚ even in solid food‚ a scientist may sample the infected food and not find it.

For example‚ a slice of polony could be tested and have none of the micro-organism, but a different slice could have it.

Anelich said: “A micro-organism in a solid food is not homogenously distributed throughout food. A statistical sampling technique has to be used to ensure it is detected.”

 

It is also difficult to find in factories. Anelich said it could hide away in niches in the factory environment in cracks or bad joints and pipes.

 

Even if you sanitised a factory‚ you might miss the bugs hiding in cracks‚ she said.

 

Listeria bacteria can sense when it is near other bacteria and secrete a sugary goo. This substance is called a biofilm and can allow the bacteria to live on inanimate surfaces.

 

The biofilm protects the bacteria from cleaning agents. “A detergent could get superficial cells but leave behind some bacteria.”

 

Motsoaledi said that people at risk such as pregnant women‚ those with HIV and those with weakened immune systems had to avoid all ready-to-eat products such as viennas‚ polony and frankfurters. Such products could be cross-contaminated in shops as they are often stored next to polony.

 

A Rainbow Chicken factory in Wolwerhoek in Sasolburg also tested positive for listeria monocytogenes — but it was not the strain causing this current outbreak.

 

The polony from Rainbow Chicken has also been recalled.</s>The South Africa listeria outbreak that has killed 180 people since January is the largest ever recorded globally, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

“Yes, this is the largest ever recorded outbreak of this severe form of listeriosis globally,” Peter K. Ben Embarek, who manages the WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network, told Reuters in an emailed response.

Meanwhile several Southern African nations including Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Namibia have banned several processed imports from South Africa, following the revelations that the listeria outbreak had been traced to ready to eat meat.

Zambia’s health minister Chitalu Chilufya said the ban would also include dairy products, vegetables and fruits.

Malawi’s Competition and Fair Trading Commission asked wholesalers and retailers to withdraw South Africa meat products from shelves.

Media in South Africa reported that hundreds of customers had flocked the factories and stores suspected of being the source of the listeriosis infection, returning goods they had already purchased and demanding refunds.

South Africa’s Health Minister, Arron Motsoaledi, told a media briefing over the weekend, that the Enterprise facility in Germiston, east of Johannesburg, was the source of the outbreak.

The minister demanded that Russian and Vienna sausages, as well as the cold meat polony be removed from shelves immediately.

The chief executive officer of Tiger Brands, who run the Enterprise facility that makes meat polony has however said the company is yet to be provided with evidence showing a direct link between the 180 listeriosis deaths and the company’s products.

The company has nevertheless recalled all exported products and says it has taken immediate action and corrective steps to address the listeriosis outbreak.

‘‘To give you some insights, Enterprise foods follow some stringent protocols for the manufacture of quality food products, this includes monitoring and testing for the detection and management of pathogens, viruses and bacteria, including listeria,’‘ Lawrence MacDougall said.

South Africa’s processed meat market grew about 8 percent in 2017 to a retail value of $412 million, according to Euromonitor International. Tiger Brands has a 35.7 percent market share, followed by Eskort Bacon Co-Operative with 21.8 percent. Rhodes Food, RCL Foods and Astral Foods each have less than 5 percent.
South African officials determine that the country's ongoing listeriosis outbreak—which is already the world's deadliest listeriosis outbreak, killing over 180 people and sickening 1,000 more—was caused by contaminated "Polony" processed meat. The Ministry of Health issues a recall of contaminated products from RCL Foods and from Tiger Brands subsidiary company Enterprise Food and advises the public to avoid all processed meat products that are sold as ready-to-eat.