Tiger Brands to reopen its Germiston meat processing facility
Johannesburg, 12 October 2018 – Tiger Brands confirms that ready-to-cook products, such as bacon and frozen sausages will soon return to shelf following the opening of its Enterprise Foods factory in Germiston, Gauteng. Salami production will also commence, however, the production of all ready-to-eat chilled processed meat products still remains suspended at this stage.
On 31 August, the Ekurhuleni Department of Health provided the company with an official Certificate of Acceptability after rigorous assessments of the factory were completed, thereby giving the company licence to resume production. This endorses the factory’s standards and operating procedures for the safe production of food products. While such certification can only be awarded by local authorities, the process was also supported by National Department of Health.
“With the safety standards for our Germiston factory now re-affirmed by government, we have been given the green light to reopen the facility,” said Tiger Brands’ CEO Lawrence Mac Dougall.
The company will resume production of ready-to-eat chilled processed meats once refurbishments at its Polokwane facility have been concluded and the necessary assessments have been completed by the Department of Health, which is planned for November. However, the Enterprise Foods meat canning operation, which is a separate unit on the Polokwane site, re-commenced production on 12 September 2018. A Certificate of Acceptability for this operation was issued by the Capricorn Municipality on 31 August 2018.
In addition to the industry safety standards for the production of ready-to-eat processed meats, Enterprise Foods is providing assurance of product safety to all its consumers through its 7-Step Quality Check process. This 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.
At a country level, Tiger Brands has advanced discussions with key stakeholders, including industry bodies and academia, for improved food safety assurance in South Africa. “The listeriosis outbreak has amplified the need for better co-ordination across all stakeholder groups for improved food safety systems in South Africa. We have learned this painfully in our country through the many who have fallen victim to the outbreak. We must work collectively and with a strong multi-sectorial approach – which includes the private sector, government, academia and civil society – to ensure that something like this never happens again in our country. Tiger Brands will play a leading role in driving such an approach. An announcement to this effect will be made in due course,” said Mac Dougall.
With respect to progress on the legal claims that the company may face, Tiger Brands confirmed that its legal representatives have been working closely with the attorneys for the Class Action to help certify the Class Action. “As a company, we remain committed to acting with integrity, honesty and transparency, and placing consumers at the heart of our decisions,” concluded Mac Dougall.
Source – Tiger Brands
