Fear as S.Africa meat recall over listeria spreads

Enterprise-branded products accounted for 28.2 percent of processed meat sales in South Africa in 2017. The local market was worth 6.02 billion rand ($500 million) last year alone.

Tiger Brands, one of South Africa’s food giants, made pre-tax profits of 4.27 billion rands ($360 million) in 2017.

South Africa’s two largest supermarket operators, Shoprite and Pick n Pay, have also pulled products made by Rainbow Chickens after Motsoaledi confirmed that listeria had been identified in samples taken from one of its facilities.

Motsoaledi said on Sunday that Enterprise and Rainbow Chicken’s registration to export their products outside of South Africa had been temporarily suspended. Namibia also said it was suspending imports from Rainbow Chickens.

As fears of listeria continued to rise in South Africa, several other smaller food retailers have also announced product recalls.

High-end food chain Woolworths announced it was recalling dozens of sausage and ham products “as an additional precautionary measure”.

Zambia’s High Commissioner to Pretoria Emmanuel Mwamba called on South African supermarket chains operating in his country to also recall ready-to-eat meat as a precaution.

“Chain stores should emulate measures put in place by the South African government,” he said in a statement.

Mozambique Agriculture Ministry spokeswoman Florencia Cipriano told reporters on Monday that officials were working with importers to halt the flow of South African chilled meat products.

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

The infection mainly affects children and has a three-week incubation period, making 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.