Dear Valued Customer,

Following the media statement issued by the Minister of Health on 4 March 2018 relating to the recent outbreak of Listeriosis in South Africa, Food Trucks management and operational team have taken the following precautionary measure to limit the risk and potential exposure of our customers to product manufactured both by Tiger Brands –Enterprise, Polokwane facility as well as the RCL Foods -Wolwehoek facility. Food Trucks is deeply concerned about this tragic situation and the effect it has had on many South African consumers.

As of yesterday, 4th March 2018, all products produced in these facilities have been blocked in our system and no orders will be able to be placed or stock distributed to our customers. All stock items of the affected product lines have been isolated and withdrawn from stock within our branches, awaiting the manufacturer’s instructions.

Food Trucks will co-ordinating the necessary uplift and recall of implicated product lines that may have been distributed to our customers (please click here to see list of items). The Food Trucks sales consultants will assist with the uplift of any of the affected product lines from our customers.

The Private Label brand products packed under the Cooking with… brand are not manufactured by either of the implicated manufacturers, and therefore not affected. The Cooking with… products are packed by Eskort Ltd and Woody’s Brands, neither of whom are implicated in this outbreak.

As a further precaution, Food Trucks is sending samples are all high risk products, from all manufacturers in this category for end-product testing and analysis.

Since the initial reports related to the listeria outbreak last year, Food Trucks has implemented a detailed supplier and product management review in terms of the controls implemented by manufacturers exposed to this serious, yet treatable disease. We urge all our customers to adhere to the most stringent food safety standards when receiving, storing and handling perishable, ready-to-eat products. We encourage customers to ensure that all products are thoroughly cooked prior to consumption, and that the cold chain is strictly managed at all times, and that good hygiene practices are in place at all times. It is for this reason that we strictly adhere to our policy of not taking returns of any chilled and frozen products previously distributed and received by our customers.

We will be sending out a regular update on the status of the recall and impact on product availability to ensure that we can assist our customers to mitigate the risk in their businesses and enable them to respond to customer and consumer queries with accurate and factual information.

We assure you of our best attention at all times. Should you require any further information, kindly contact me directly on jane.russill@bidfood.co.za or 082 448 5105.

Yours sincerely,

Jane Russill National Quality Risk Executive

RCL Foods Update – 6.03.2018

RCL FOODS is also supporting the efforts of Prof Lucia Anelich, a leading South African food safety expert, who is setting up a website www.listeriosisfacts.co.za to provide independent expert information on listeriosis. We have set up a consumer hotline (0 800 204 675) for consumers and outlets to call for further information.