PIONEER Foods has launched a recall of specific batches of its peanuts and raisins and cashew nut products, sold under its Safari brand in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.
“Routine testing at the Safari production site in KwaZulu-Natal identified a batch of products which tested positive for low levels of Salmonella typhimurium (“salmonella”). Based on safety protocols, production was immediately halted, the product was placed on hold and ring-fenced. The production site was then deep-cleaned, and vector sampling completed,” Pioneer Foods said.
Salmonella is a group of bacteria that causes a wide spectrum of diseases. Salmonella typhimurium causes gastroenteritis, leading to diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and abdominal cramps. These symptoms may last up to seven days. People infected by Salmonella typhimurium rarely require antibiotics or hospitalisation.
So far, 92% of the impacted products had been retrieved, Pioneer Foods added.
The company said despite a number of cases with the product having been isolated and ring-fenced for destruction, on November 17 a limited number of cases of Safari 60g Peanuts & Raisins (Best Before: 27/10/2022) and Safari 100g Raw Cashews (Best Before: 27/6/2022) were released to the trade.
These are the only SKUs (stock-keeping units) that have been affected, it said.
“This limited number of affected products should never have been released into trade, and while we have not received any health-related complaints from consumers to date, we have decided to proceed to proactively recall these specific products,” explained Tertius Carstens, CEO.
Pioneer Foods said it had already engaged with the SA National Consumer Commission as well as the SA Department of Health.
Consumers who have the products listed below, with the specific batch or date coding, are urged to return these products to the retailer from which they were purchased in order to receive a full refund.
Peanuts & Raisins 60g BB 27/ 10/2022 SA & Namibia
Cashews Raw 100g BB 27/6/2022 SA & Botswana