SOUTH AFRICA – McCain Foods South Africa has voluntarily recalled certain bags of frozen sliced green beans and Spar-brand French stir fry after reports that small glass fragments had been detected in the food products.
McCain Foods Limited is a Canadian multinational frozen food company established in 1957 in Florenceville, New Brunswick, Canada. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products.
“We have ascertained the source of the material, confirming it to be small glass fragments originating from a light fitting that has affected a limited batch of products only,” McCain said.
The company informed that they have already put stringent measures in place to address the situation .
“A formal block has also been issued across our cold chain and our relevant networks, and all potentially impacted stock has been removed from retail shelves. In addition, retailers and foodservice customers have been formally notified of the current return procedures in place,” the company added.
The beans and stir fry mix were all made between July and October 2021, and all carry a best-before date of 2023.
Consumers who are still in possession of any of the recalled products are encouraged to take the product back to the store of purchase for replacement purposes.
Past product recalls
In the previous month, Nestlé South Africa also recalled a limited number of Kit Kat milk chocolate products due to the possibility that they may contain glass pieces.
This was after discovering the presence of small pieces of glass during its quality and safety checks.
The affected products were produced over a limited period and the recall covers only products with specific production codes that can be found on the label, with a best-before date of either 30 September 2022, or 31 October 2022.
Nestle is the world’s largest food and beverage company with headquarters in Switzerland. It has 447 factories, operates in 189 countries, and employs around 339,000 people.
Moreover, in December last year, Pioneer Foods recalled certain batches of Safari peanuts & raisins and cashew nuts products in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.
Routine testing at the Safari production site in KwaZulu-Natal, identified a batch of the product which tested positive for low levels of Salmonella typhimurium.
The company revealed that based on safety protocols, production was immediately halted, the product placed on hold and ringfenced. The production site was then deep-cleaned, and vector sampling completed before production was recommenced.
South Africa’s National Consumer Commission also recently recalled Abbott Nutrition’s Similac Alimentum 400G infant formula.
Abbott Nutrition, a healthcare company headquartered in the US, had issued a voluntary recall of powdered formulas including Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare, over contamination with Cronobacter sakazakii.
Formulas manufactured at this plant are exported across the world, with notices issued to more than 40 countries, including South Africa.
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