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The Namibian company that produces Top Score Instant Porridge said test results done following the deaths of three East London children showed the product is safe for consumption.
Namib Mills said in a statement that following the “tragic incident” in Mdantsane, the company temporarily recalled all variants of Top Score Instant Porridge from its markets in South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Zambia on 29 September.
“Even though there is no evidence linking our product to this isolated incident, we took this step out of an abundance of caution to ensure consumer safety and confidence,” said senior brand manager, Marné Bouwer.
He said the company also sent its products for rigorous testing to an independent, SANAS-accredited laboratory in South Africa.
“SANAS accreditation certificates are a formal recognition by the Government of South Africa that an organisation is competent to perform specific tasks.
“The results confirm that Top Score Instant Porridge is safe for consumption,” he said.
Bouwer said tests were not only done on the specific batch in question but also on multiple batches across different flavours and production dates.
He said this was to further reassure consumers and stakeholders that their product poses no health risk and complies with the highest standards in food safety.
Bouwer said the test results covered pesticide analysis of over 200 products, while analysis for heavy metals ensured no traces of harmful metals were detected.
The SAPS in the Eastern Cape said this week that they were still awaiting the results of toxicology tests following the deaths of Lithembelihle Bambela, 4, Iminathi Bambela, 1, and Live Ndudane, 1.
