Shoprite recalls Farmer’s Deli viennas after #Listeria found in batch

The Shoprite Group has announced on Friday afternoon that it has recalled a batch of Farmer’s Deli red viennas packed for the group from its perishable departments.

This follows a notification earlier on Friday from a Winelands District Environmental Health Practitioner after the presence of Listeria monocytogenes was identified in an initial testing of a single batch of red viennas, Shoprite said in a statement released on Friday.

Further testing is necessary to confirm the presence of harmful levels of Listeria bacteria. The results of the further testing will take another five working days.

In the meantime, the Shoprite Group has, as an added precautionary measure, removed all Farmer’s Deli Red and Smoked Viennas from its shelves until the product gets the all clear.

The group said Listeria monocytogenes is not the same as Listeria ST6, which was linked by the Department of Health to fatal listeriosis cases that occurred in South Africa.

“The recall due to Listeria monocytogenes was only found in a single batch (BB 18 March B5/N) and is not linked to the recent Listeria ST6 recall related to Enterprise Foods.

“The production facility where this batch was packed has provided a full record of clean food safety tests which included testing for the presence of Listeria bacteria, Shoprite said.

The Shoprite Group has invited any concerned customers to return purchases of any Farmer’s Deli 500g and 1kg red and smoked Viennas products for a full refund.  Proof of purchase will not be required.

The Group has a team of food scientists and technologists and is working with its suppliers and the Department of Health to do all that is necessary to further contain the outbreak of Listeriosis.