The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) has announced ban on two meat importers from South Africa after the Ministry traced deadly listeria outbreak to their meat products, reported WAM news agency.
The two manufactures were identified as Tiger’s Enterprise Food and RCL Foods, whose food samples tested positive for the strain, that was later found to be responsible for almost all the reported cases of listeria-related diseases in the UAE.
Majd Mohamed Al Herbawi, Director of the Food Safety Department at MOCCAE, said, “As part of the precautionary measures, the Ministry has issued a circular informing Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and municipal authorities in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah of the immediate suspension of food imports from these two manufactures, denying entry of their inbound shipments, and pulling the incriminated goods from local shelves. The Ministry also directed relevant local authorities to step up screening of South African meat and its products and ensure that only safe-to-consume meat is available in the UAE market.”
The statement added that the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment is closely following-up on the investigations being carried out by the official authorities in South Africa.
Last week, the health ministry of South Africa issued a warning to consumers to avoid “all processed meat products that are sold as ready-to-eat” after tracing the source of deadly listeria outbreak to a sausage meat product.
“As of 02 March 2018, a total of laboratory-confirmed cases have risen to 948, still counting from January 2017,” the Ministry of Health of South Africa said in a statement last week.
