Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has announced that the country's listeriosis outbreak is officially over.
At a media briefing on Monday, Motsoaledi said that no new cases have been detected in the last three months.
"I'm here to announce that we no longer have a listeriosis outbreak."
This means that processed meat products can be consumed, but he urged people to pay attention to proper food safety, pointing out that while the outbreak is over, the disease is not completely gone.
He also said that despite concerted efforts, investigators have not been able to pinpoint exactly where the outbreak originated.
Motsoaledi said that 62% of the listeriosis cases were in Gauteng, and about 900 health inspectors in all districts were retrained. They identified 157 factories with listeria, and over 12 000 tons of food was recalled and destroyed.