Trading partners dubious about safety of SA’s food exports after listeriosis outbreak, Rob Davies says
SA’s listeriosis outbreak has negatively affected trading partners’ perceptions of the safety of food exports from SA and could have a financial effect that extends far beyond the companies at the heart of the current crisis, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies told Parliament on Wednesday. "We have a significant reputational challenge, which we now need to confront," he said. "Recovering from incidents like this is a massive challenge for companies concerned. They need to embrace it with a spirit of transparency. The same applies to us as a country," he told a joint sitting of parliament’s portfolio committees on agriculture forestry and fisheries; health; and trade and industry. SA’s listeriosis outbreak is the worst in recorded history and has been responsible for 185 deaths since January 2017, according to the Department of Health. On March 4 the National Institute for Communicable Diseases identified Listeria Monocytogenes, the bacteria that causes listeriosis, in ready-to-e...
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