It has been just over a year since the world's largest listeriosis outbreak hit SA, but the crisis turned out to be a boon for the pork industry which last year saw its highest fresh meat sales in three years. In just a few months shoppers who fled the cold-meats aisles turned to fresh pork, attracted by lower prices in the wake of the crisis. In March last year, minister of health Aaron Motsoaledi announced SA had a listeriosis outbreak and asked people to stop buying and consuming processed meats. Two hundred people died from listeria after eating ready-to-eat products. Tiger Brands, which makes Enterprise processed meat products that were the source of the outbreak, reported a 26% loss in headline earnings for the year to September. For Johann Kotzé, CEO of the South African Pig Producers Organisation, this marked the beginning of a challenging time for pork producers. "We had the best prices ever and the most pigs ever sold. And all of a sudden, boom, we had this awakening call ...
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