Bryanston, 6 December 2018
Tiger Brands confirms that ready-to-eat chilled processed meats, such as polony and viennas, will soon return to shelves following the opening of its Enterprise Foods factory in Polokwane, Limpopo. This is subsequent to the opening of its Germiston factory in Gauteng, which began producing ready-to-cook products like bacon and pork sausages in October.
On the 6th of December 2018, the Capricorn Municipality’s Environmental Health Department provided the company with an official Certificate of Acceptability for the Polokwane factory after rigorous assessments were completed, giving the company licence to resume production. This certificate endorses the factory’s standards and operating procedures for the safe production of food products.
Underpinning the decision to open the factory is the firmer guidance provided to the industry on safety standards for the production of ready-to-eat chilled processed meats. “The Department of Health has referred the industry to the CODEX standard, which says that for finished ready-to-eat products which promote growth of the bacteria, there must be zero listeria detection in products, both as they leave thefactories as well as to the point of sale,” says Lawrence Mac Dougall, Tiger Brands’ CEO.
Further, the industry has agreed to mandatory implementation of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) protocol, which is a Food Safety Management program. “HACCP allows for the identification of hazards and the implementation of control measures to ensure that risks are managed.”
Enterprise Foods has gone a step further to providing product safety assurance to all its consumers. It has introduced a revolutionary 7-Step Quality Check process which creates transparency to consumers across the entire farm-to-table value chain in the production of quality meat products. These details will appear on-pack, as well as on the Enterprise Foods website.
In addition to providing consumers with assurance, the company has committed to playing a leading role in driving a multisectoral approach, aimed at enhancing food safety in the country. “We recognise the tremendous responsibility we have as business to move beyond compliance and the standards we have in South Africa and to be at the forefront of solutions that give assurance to all South Africans - whether they eat our products or not - that the food safety system is robust,” Mac Dougall said.
“The Centre for Food Safety, which we launched in collaboration with the Stellenbosch University on the 6th of November, is a critical milestone in this quest.” The Centre is a one-of-a-kind applied food science research consortium and is being independently run by the Stellenbosch University. It will conduct food science and food safety research to provide expert opinion and academic support to the industry, and to help government ensure that food safety regulations are based on sound scientific evidence. It will also play a leading role in consumer education on foodrelated issues.
Tiger Brands is the founding member of the Centre for Food Safety and has dedicated R10m to the Centre’s operations.
“As a food manufacturing company that has a long, strong and proud heritage in South Africa, there is an enormous amount of trust that is placed in us and our products. I know that some of that trust has been lost as a result of the Listeriosis crisis and that we need to earn back that trust over time through our actions and by keeping our word.”
Tiger Brands’ legal representatives worked closely with the attorneys for the Class Action to help expedite the certification process. This collaboration significantly reduced the period the certification process took to be finalised. The Class Action was certified on the 3rd of December 2018 by the Deputy Judge President Mojapelo.
In addition, the company will support the attorneys for the claimants by co-funding the communication campaign that will be executed by them to notify prospective claimants of their rights in the Class Action.
Tiger Brands reiterates that no liability has been established against the company for the listeriosis outbreak. The legal process of the Class Action must still take its course.
“As a company, we are committed to acting with integrity, honesty and transparency, and placing consumers at the heart of our decisions. This includes how we managed the recall process and safe destruction of products, the stringent focus on further bolstering our facilities against future threats, collaborating with the attorneys for the Class Action, and working toward improving South Africa’s food safety system holistically,” concluded Mac Dougall.
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