NRCS: Defective machine to blame for pilchards recall
The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) says a defective sauce filling machine has led to the recall of some pilchard cans.
Consumers who recently bought 400 gram tins of pilchards in tomato sauce manufactured by West Point Processors were told to return them.
The Food and Associated Industries at the NRCS briefed the media on the recall in Pretoria on Tuesday.
West Food Processors recalled 400g canned pilchards over the weekend, citing faulty canning which could ultimately lead to consumers falling ill.
Affected brands include Cape Point and Saldana, Shoprite Rite brand, Checkers Housebrand, U-Brand and OK Housebrand.
#PilchardsRecall | The products that are being recalled pic.twitter.com/7oXu8paTeI
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General manager at Food and Associated Industries Meisie Katz said the cans were scratched by the machine while it was being filling with sauce.
"When we dispense the sauce into the can the dispenser was scratching the can inside and causing microscopic deformation which could not pick it up by the physical eye or it could not be picked by the inspection at that time.
"However, as time goes on that incision - because the can has been damaged - the incision the grows and grows and the reaction between the food inside the can and the metal causes the metal to leak," Katz said.
#PilchardsRecall | Katz says the investigation was prompted by leaking cans that were noticed 9 months after production pic.twitter.com/f3ve1gPSn0
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Kats explained that the defect was only picked up 9 months after production.
"We only discovered the defect on last week Friday. However, in terms of that defect, it's only discovered on the cans that were manufactured 9 months down the line."
Katz said the biggest problem facing the company at this stage is the informal market, as 5-10% of the cans have not yet been returned.
"The biggest issue we handling currently is the informal market. We are currently involving the Environmental Health Practitioner in terms of the Department of Health to assist us with the informal markets to ensure that we address those issues.
"At this stage, we are planning to go into the informal market and assist them and make sure that those specific brands are recalled. We hope to finalise that matter by the end of this week."
Katz said the exact number of cans affected by the recall is not known.
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Wider recall of pilchards products
The Regulator says it's investigation revealed a deficiency in the canning process at West Point Processors based in Cape Town, in 2019. It stretches far wider than the original recall at Checkers, Shoprite and OK. Some of the cans were comprised during the sauce filling process and the fish could, therefore, affect the safety of consumers.