Health department blames food firms for ‘delayed listeriosis probe’
Tiger Brands waits for test results while Namibia suspends processed-meat imports from South Africa
The health department has blamed processed-meat companies for delaying its progress in identifying the source of the deadly listeriosis outbreak, which has killed 180 people since January 2017. Tiger Brands said it was waiting for the results of its own tests, even as it issued a product recall wider than the three items made at its Enterprise Foods unit that were identified by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) as being contaminated with the strain of listeria that has caused the outbreak of the deadly disease. Tiger Brands has yet to quantify the financial implications of the product recalls. Namibia suspended imports of processed meat from SA on Monday, after bans imposed by Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced at the weekend that the source of the outbreak had been traced to polony made by Tiger Brands’s Enterprise unit. A different strain of listeria had also been detected in polony made by RCL Foods. If you are already...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.