Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry is weighing in on the crisis surrounding the listeriosis outbreak, following revelations that industry complaints about high levies resulted in the compulsory specifications on processed meats not being implemented.
In a statement, the Committee said that it had received a briefing on the listeriosis outbreak on Friday.
"The committee heard from the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) that no compulsory specifications exist for processed meat products. The NRCS only regulates canned goods and not processed meat products. A standard was developed with the view to regulate meat products; however, due to disagreements with the industry, the regulation was referred back to the Department of Health."
"The committee heard that the final draft of the processed meat compulsory specifications was accepted during a full stakeholder meeting on 7 March 2014; however, the industry argued that the operational costs for levies presented were too high. A levy sub-committee comprising members from the manufacturers association, the South African Meat Processors Association, retailers, the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa, the South African National Consumer Union and the NRCS was subsequently set up to further deliberate and come up with a solution. No agreement was reached."
“This is absolutely shocking. What is the cost of a human life? This type of behaviour from the industry cannot be tolerated,” said Committee chairperson, Joanmariae Fubbs.
Fubbs further requested the names of the associations and/or retailers that were averse to the levies. “The committee would like a comprehensive list of all those associations and industry partners that argued the levies were too high.” She said this would include the retailers.
She said the committee further noted with grave concern that the hygiene requirements were not part of this proposed regulation and will only be covered in the general requirements for all foodstuffs under the Department of Health.
Fubbs said that Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry would be engaging with other committees including Health and Agriculture to invite them to a joint meeting on this cross-cutting challenge.
The National Consumer Commission (NCC) ordered a recall of affected goods on 4 March 2018. The NCC was concerned about the disposal of products and called for incineration as bacteria can also be transferred to the soil.
Turning to concerns about the Ford Kuga 1.6 Ecoboost recalls, Fubbs wanted to know why these cars were still on the country's road.
"The committee heard from the NCC about fears and concerns experienced by people in South Africa that the Ford Kuga was redirected from markets where it was recalled and dumped in South Africa. The committee called on the NCC to provide a written clarification on this allegation.
“We will establish what legal powers Parliament has to request these vehicles removed from our roads,” said Fubbs.
She also requested a full explanation for the reasons which allowed these cars to remain on South African roads. “We should not just accept the safety specifications of the European Union. We should be able to say we are a sovereign country and should be looking into developing our own safety regulations. These cars have been removed from the roads in the United States, so why are we still allowing them here?”
The committee indicated that it will have a follow-up meeting with the NCC and NRCS towards the middle of May 2018.
