The Red Meat Industry Forum (RMIF) said ‘misinformation’ on the listeriosis outbreak is having a catastrophic impact on the processed meat industry and the Red Meat Industry in its entirety.
Dave Ford, chairman of RMIF said the average consumer is being led into a ‘Listeria hysteria’.
“The RMIF and its member organisations, including the South African Meat Processors Association (SAMPA), representing the meat processing and related sectors, are deeply concerned that the entire processed meat industry has been implicated without justification.
Read also: Listeriosis outbreak: 5 key steps to eating ‘safer’
“The devastating consequences emanating from the media coverage thus far as a result of the minister’s media release has had far reaching and a catastrophic impact on the processed meat industry and the Red Meat Industry in its entirety.
Ford added food safety remains at the heart of the Red Meat Industry.
“While the industry is responsible for producing food that is safe for human consumption, it is also the responsibility of consumers to know that the only contamination can come from the facilities implicated. Consumers must also adopt basic hygienic practices when buying, transporting food home, preparing and storing food to protect their health and to ensure that cross contamination does not occur between cooked and raw products or from human hands and equipment. Listeria presents a particular concern in respect to food handling, because it can multiply at refrigerator temperatures,” he said.
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