South Africa was this week rocked by the revelation of something that food safety experts have been saying for years: what we’re eating could be killing us.
After months of intense research to find the source of a listeriosis outbreak that’s claimed the lives of 180 people so far, the Department of Health on Tuesday named an Enterprise Foods factory in Polokwane as the culprit.
South Africans were shocked to find out that food that’s been part of our daily diets for years is, in fact, the killer among us: our polony and mayo sandwich, our kota with russian and chips, and our beloved polony gatsby. Bacon, viennas and any cold cut meat also came under suspicion, with most large retailers taking all Enterprise stock off their shelves.
Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi warned people not to eat any of these products for the time being, and throw away all products they may have bought in the past months to prevent getting sick.
But, according to experts, the listeriosis outbreak is just the tip of the iceberg of diseases being caused by poor quality food consumed by millions of South Africans every day. ….more