Johannesburg – The Food Lover's Market group says it has initiated an immediate nationwide recall of all Enterprise and Rainbow Chicken processed meats, following the announcement on the source of the deadly listeriosis outbreak.
On Sunday, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the outbreak was traced to Enterprise's Polokwane facility, after several children presented with gastroenteritis in Soweto earlier in the week.
READ: Enterprise factory workers sent home amid listeriosis fallout
A Rainbow Chicken facility in the Free State and an Enterprise facility in Germiston were also singled out, but further tests are being conducted to establish the sequence type.
The outbreak has claimed 180 lives in South Africa and has been described by the
World Health Organisation as the biggest documented outbreak of
listeria.
Customers were notified to return any Enterprise or Rainbow Chicken products bought at Food Lover’s Market or Freshstop stores for a full refund, spokesperson Jean Harkett said in a statement on Tuesday.
ALSO READ: Listeriosis scare: Shoprite, Checkers offer full refund on some Enterprise, Rainbow products
"Customers will not be required to produce till slips or proof of purchase in order to return these products.
"We can confirm that our in-house Freshers Deli branded, ready-to-eat processed meat products are not manufactured by either Enterprise or Rainbow Chicken (RCL Foods) and are therefore are not being recalled."
Harkett said all recalled products were being segregated and will be retained until they are removed from their stores by Tiger Brands and RCL Foods in accordance with their recall plans.
"The health of our consumers is our primary concern. We wish to reassure all our customers that we will continue to employ the highest standards of food safety procedures in our meat and deli departments and all fridges and food areas will be cleaned and decontaminated to prevent cross-contamination."
Motsoaledi said on Sunday that polony was a definite source of the disease.
He warned that products such as viennas, russians, frankfurters, other sausages and cold meats which are not typically cooked, could also be affected due to the risk of cross-contamination.
