Since January 2017, South Africa has faced one of the largest listeriosis epidemics on record. A total of 950 cases have been reported and nearly 180 people have died in the past 14 months. Listeria, the bacteria causing listeriosis, contaminates food and especially meat, the dairy products and the sea. Fortunately, the authorities have finally got their hands on the food factory responsible for this epidemic.
A complicated investigation
The Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi, announced in a statement that the source of this epidemic was a food factory producing deli meats, owned by the Enterprise company, and located in Polokwane in the northeast of the country. Determining the origin of the contamination was difficult because listeria has an incubation period of at least 3 weeks. The spokesperson for the Minister of Health also deplores the lack of cooperation from the meat industry, with the refusal to send the authorities the samples requested.
All of the factory’s products have been recalled and supermarkets have already removed them from their shelves. The public is also advised to avoid consuming cooked products containing meat. Neighboring countries have suspended all imports of processed meat from South Africa.
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