WHILE the country is caught up in fear after the deadly outbreak of listeriosis, experts say this should be a lesson that food safety cannot be compromised.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases said fatalities had risen to 183 on Friday, from the initial
180 reported last Sunday by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
Food safety expert Dr Lucia Anelich said the outbreak was a wake-up call for the government, industry and consumers. She said she had called on the government to enforce more stringent food safety measures before the outbreak.
She said safety measures were inadequate.
KwaZulu-Natal was one of the hardest hit, with 7% of the reported deaths coming from the province.
An Enterprise Foods facility in Polokwane tested positive for the food-borne disease, the Department of Health announced last Sunday.
An Interwaste truck leaves the Enterprise Factory in Germiston, west of Johannesburg. PICTURE: Simphiwe Mbokazi/African News Agency/ANA
Dr Charlotte Nkuna, acting chief executive of the South African Poultry Association, rated food safety in the country as good. However, she said there was still room for improvement.
“There is a need to consolidate the food safety laws and make sure that one regulatory entity becomes responsible for food safety,” she said.
Dissecting the process leading to food products making their way on to the shelves was important.
“When the products land in South Africa, every container gets sampled and tested based on the potential risk diseases.”
She said before any product can be imported, the country of origin needs permission from the South African government to do so.
“This process includes the evaluation of health and veterinary services of the country of origin. Then a health certificate is negotiated between the two governments.”
A health certificate is issued by the country of origin
confirming that the products meet the agreed conditions, she said.
“Shipments must be accompanied by the import permit from South Africa and a health certificate from the veterinary or health authorities of the country of origin.”
But she said listeria had not been part of the testing protocol for imported meat until very recently.
“Nor was it part of the locally produced meat until recently. The poultry producers had already included listeria testing in their facilities in order to manage the bacteria,” she assured.
Tiger Brands has asked consumers to remove any Enterprise ready-to-eat meat products from fridges and place in a plastic bag - away from other foods. Picture: Karen Sandison/African News Agency/ANA
Dr Ray Russon, secretary general of the National Black Consumer Council, said: “Anything that interferes with the right to life as protected in our constitution cannot be taken lightly. It is our earnest belief that this is the tip of the iceberg and a thorough investigation must be conducted to establish culpability and get to the bottom of this matter.”
He said the council was concerned at the manner in which private business ran its affairs, accusing the sector of having little concern for consumer rights and safety.
“We are also concerned about the government’s lacklustre approach to matters of health inspection for large manufacturers, but how they jump to throttle small businesses like shisa-nyama’s in the townships.”
Russon said the council had requested an urgent meeting with Tiger Brands, which owns Enterprise, to find out the truth about the extent of the problem.
Dispose
Meanwhile, EnviroServ said it was ready to dispose of listeria-contaminated food.
The company said the Department of Environmental Affairs had given special permission in light of the outbreak for licensed waste management facilities to accept listeria-contaminated food products for disposal.
EnviroServ’s group technical specialist Dr Johan Schoonraad said: “EnviroServ could offer disposal to a Class A landfill, including treatment to prevent further spread of the bacteria. These methods follow established health-care risk waste protocols.
“EnviroServ will comply with the risk assessment and reporting protocols required by the department and are satisfied that we are fully prepared for disposal of the recalled food products as soon as necessary,” he said.