How to avoid listeriosis infection
One of South Africa’s leading sellers of fresh produce gives tips on avoiding listeria.
One of South Africa’s leading sellers of fresh fruit and vegetables, the RSA Group, has advised the public to focus on the simple health and safety measures laid out by the South African Health Department in order to combat the possibility of listeriosis infection.
“We are encouraging members of the public to take specific care in how they clean their fresh produce, and to ensure that they are educated as to the basics of listeria prevention,” said Jaco Oosthuizen, the RSA Group CEO.
The RSA Group is monitoring the listeriosis outbreak carefully and has committed to working with relevant stakeholders at fresh produce markets, suppliers, retail outlets and consumers to stay safe with respect to listeria.
The Joburg Market has a Food and Quality Assurance Department which observes the controls and safety measures of the fresh produce supplied.
In response to the listeriosis outbreak, the department has performed a risk assessment of the fresh produce identified in the documented outbreak case studies.
Samples of these have been sent through to the laboratory for analysis.
“There is also a lot of information swirling around social media at the moment that is either false or misleading,” said Oosthuizen.
“It’s imperative that we all understand the disease, how it works and what to do about it.”
Listeriosis symptoms include fever, a stiff neck, confusion, weakness and vomiting, sometimes proceeded by diarrhoea.
Members of the public suffering from such symptoms should consult their doctor.
“Fresh produce is perfectly safe as long those involved in food preparation follow the basic rules of health and safety,” said Oosthuizen.
“Everyone must wash their hands – and those of children – thoroughly and often.
“We must also ensure that we wash our food with care, that cooking tools and surfaces are clean, that we cook food well and that we separate raw meat, poultry and fish from other foods and fresh produce.
“Provided that these basic measures are taken, families can carry on enjoying the benefits of fresh fruit and vegetables as usual without concern.”
The South African Department of Health and the World Health Organisation offer the following five key tips for food safety:
• Keep clean.
Wash your hands before handling food and often during food preparation. If you are handling or storing raw food, do not touch already cooked food unless you have thoroughly washed your hands and food preparation utensils.
• Cook food thoroughly, and never eat half-cooked or uncooked food, especially meat products.
• Food that does not usually need cooking before eating needs to be thoroughly washed with clean running water.
• For families with no source of clean running water, water from rivers, dams, streams, etc will need to be boiled before domestic use.
• Keep food at safe temperatures. Food to be kept cold should be refrigerated and food to be served hot should be served hot.
• Use safe water for domestic use at all times, and use pasteurised milk products.
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