South African Poultry Plant Closes Amid Deadly Listeria Outbreak Investigation
The poultry plant where Listeria was found during South Africa’s deadly Listeria outbreak has shut down. Thus far, 180 deaths since January 2017 have been confirmed in the world’s worst Listeria outbreak ever recorded.
The Tiger Brands factory in Pretoria produced a ready-to-eat meat product known as polony. That product has since been recalled, along with the same product made by RCL Foods. Despite an official investigation underway, RCL claims that no deadly strain of Listeria has been found at its processing plant. Tiger Brands says that it has not been confirmed whether or not the Listeria strain found at its plant is the same one that has caused the deadly outbreak. In a statement, Tiger Brands says they will be sending samples to officials to conduct whole-genome sequencing.