Listeria-tainted polony still on the shelves in rural areas
A recent study finds polony, including in lesser-known brands that weren’t affected by the earlier recall due to the listeriosis outbreak
Polony contaminated with listeria is still being sold‚ even though health minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the listeriosis outbreak that killed at least 218 people is over. The potentially deadly listeria pathogen is still being found in food bought in rural areas and the informal sector. This is according to a study by the University of Pretoria (UP)‚ one of several of South African universities that form part of the Centre for Excellence in Food Security. On September 3‚ Motsoaledi said an outbreak that led to 1‚065 confirmed cases was over. Last week‚ Tiger Brands re-opened its Germiston factory‚ which was closed in March along with a Polokwane factory and an abattoir in Clayville after they were found to be the sources of listeria. Before‚ during and after the outbreak‚ researchers‚ from UP’s Food Safety Research Group collected 344 samples of polony from 77 different brands sold by 20 food outlets. The samples were bought from formal and informal shops in eight of the nine provin...
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