Mozambique: Government bans sale of canned pilchards being recalled in South Africa

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Mozambique: Government bans sale of canned pilchards being recalled in South Africa

7:18 CAT | 27 Feb 2020

The affected brands are: Deep Catch, Mammas, Prime Ocean, Spar, Sunny, Shoprite Ritebrand, Cape Point, Checkers Housebrand, U Brand, Saldanha, West Point and OK Housebrand, South Africa's NRCS announced. [Image: Northglen News]

Mozambique’s government is to withdraw canned goods from South Africa, after information indicating the existence of badly processed products unfit for human consumption, it said on Thursday.

“It is confirmed that there are canned products unfit for human consumption and our recommendation is to withdraw these products,” Rosa Marlene, National Health Director, told reporters on Thursday.

The warning about the existence of canned South African products unfit for human consumption was given to Mozambique by the World Health Organisation and by South Africa itself, a neighbouring country from which Mozambique imports a considerable number of products, especially food.

ALSO READ: South Africa suspends sale of canned sardines also consumed in Mozambique – A Verdade

“We advised the National Inspection of Economic Activities (INAE) as soon as we had the information and now this body is organising the mechanisms it has for the products to be withdrawn throughout the country,” the National Health Director said.

South Africa: More brands hit by pilchards recall and the chilli sauce variant, too

It’s not just West Point Processors’ tinned pilchards in tomato sauce that has been recalled, but their pilchards in chilli sauce as well — sold by retailers countrywide under 12 brands, South Africa’s National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) announced on Monday night, Times Live reports.

That’s because the product was “compromised’ on the production line when the sauce was added to the fish in the can, and “therefore could affect the safety of consumers”, the NRCS said.

The affected products include not only the Shoprite group’s house brands, but the Spar house brand pilchards as well, all bearing the production codes ZST29 or ZSC29 on top of the can.

“The problem manifests itself after months of storage, which causes the content of the can to react with the metal of the can,” the NRCS said.

The regulator made no mention of bloating tins.

At the weekend, West Point Processors announced a recall of its pilchards in tomato sauce 400g tins, but was silent about its chilli variant.

Customers who’ve purchased the cans were urged to return them for a refund.

The company said there was a small possibility that some tins in the specified batch may have a “canning deficiency”, which could make them “unfit for consumption”.

Whereas Westpoint named six products as being part of its recall — Cape Point, Saldanha, Shoprite Ritebrand, Checkers Housebrand, U-brand and OK Housebrand — and only the Tomato Sauce variant, the NRCS has named nine brands and said both the Tomato Sauce and Chilli Sauce variants are part of the recall.

The full list is:

Deep Catch
Mammas
Prime Ocean
Spar
Sunny
Shoprite Ritebrand
Cape Point
Checkers Housebrand
U Brand
Saldanha
West Point
OK Housebrand

The NRCS, which regulates the manufacture, production and treatment of canned fish, is now “imploring” formal wholesalers, retailers and informal traders to remove and stop selling the 400g Pilchards in Tomato Sauce and 400g Pilchards in Chilli Sauce with immediate effect.

“We are engaging all role players to ensure that the affected products are removed from the market to protect consumers against unsafe products in line with our mandate,” the South African regulator said.