Foods from South Africa under FDA scrutiny; public caution urged

The Ministry of Health says following an outbreak of a food-based disease in South Africa, foods from that country have been put under scrutiny.

According to the Ministry, dairy products, fruits and vegetables coming from South Africa into Ghana are being monitored to prevent a similar outbreak of the disease.

The disease, Listeriosis, is food poisoning caused by eating foods contaminated with Listeria Monocytogenes, a release from the Health Ministry explains.

According to an online article about the disease, it primarily causes infections of the central nervous system (meningitis, meningoencephalitis, brain abscess, cerebritis) and bacteremia in those who are immunocompromised, pregnant women, and those at the extremes of age (newborns and the elderly), as well as gastroenteritis in healthy persons who have been severely infected.

However, the Ministry says, “there is no cause for alarm and we shall continue to monitor, investigate and assess the quality of plant and animal products coming from South Africa.”

Read the full alert from the Ministry below:

Source: otecfmghana.com