POLOWKANE – “We are currently doing everything we can to get to the root cause of LST6 being found in our Polokwane plant. We have appointed a team of local and international scientific experts. Together with our staff, business partners and the relevant authorities we are working to mitigate any further risks to consumers. Our Polokwane and Germiston factories remain closed while we conduct a deep cleaning process,” Nevashnee Naicker, Corporate Communication Director of Tiger Brands said on Monday.
Read more: BREAKING NEWS: Listeriosis outbreak traced to Enterprise Factory in Polokwane
“At this stage the Enterprise Foods recall is progressing and is scheduled to continue until 31 March. Our in-store merchandiser is managing the collection of all stock from stores across the country, and will be managing the safe disposal of all returned products, in line with the regulations and guidelines,” she said.
These products are removed with dedicated trucks and are being kept in a quarantine warehouse awaiting disposal. Tiger Brands have rolled out a national consumers’ communication campaign on radio, print and broadcast media to provide consumers with information on how to return these products for refund.
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Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba during a press conference on Friday said that until that morning, 48 people in the province have been positively tested for listeriosis and nine fatalities have been reported.
She said Enterprise Foods will resume production after conducting a deep-clean operation at their food processing plant and tests have been performed again.
Ramathuba said listeria is a bacteria genus, which comprises six species.
It is a disease caused by listeria spp.bacteria. She said listeria monocytogenes are widely found in the environment especially from the soil, water and vegetation and also the faeces of a variety of animals.
Up to 5% of healthy humans also carry listeria monocytogenes in their gut.
“The primary source of infection in humans is from consumption of contaminated food and human to human transmission can occur from mother to child, either in utero or at birth. Cutaneous infections have been reported very rarely in vets and farmers following direct animal contact with ill animals,” she said.
Ramathuba said Limpopo Provincial Government has engaged stakeholders to work on the plan to dispose the products. The province visited the Polokwane factory on 5 March to engage management about the clearing of the products and the recall strategy.
“The government environment practitioners and other private institutions are conducting further test,” she said. Meetings between various stakeholders have been held daily and government will continue to meet with stakeholders until the matter is resolved. The provincial government urged the public to return the processed food products to the retail outlets and clean their fridges with mild bleach solution.
