THE National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) has ordered all formal wholesalers, retailers and informal traders to remove and stop selling 400g pilchards in tomato sauce and 400g pilchards in chilli sauce with immediate effect.
This follows the outcome of an investigation the NRCS conducted, which revealed a deficiency in the canning process.
The affected products bear the markings starting with ZST29 and ZSC29 on top of the cans.
Food and Associated Industries General Manager at the NRCS, Meisie Katz, said they are recalling all products packaged in June 2019.
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Katz explained that during the packaging of the affected products, they discovered that during the process of the sauce filling step, an incision took place, which makes the cans leak after some time.
She explained that there is no problem with the content, but rather with the packaging of the content.
The affected products were manufactured in 2019 by West Point Processors, based in Cape Town and have been distributed nationally to various retailers across the country.
Katz said the signs of the affected products show after three to six months from the packaging date.
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Product brands affected and that are being recalled are:
Deep Catch
Mammas
OK Housebrand
Prime Ocean
Spar
Sunny
Shoprite Ritebrand
Cape Point
Checkers Housebrand
U Brand
Saldanha
West Point
Shoprite is one of the retailers that has urged consumers to check their food cupboards and return the recalled product to its stores for a refund.
Consumers, who have purchased the products, are urged to check the code. If it starts with ZST29 or ZSC29, they must return it for a full refund.
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