The hysteria over listeriosis is justified

The hysteria over listeriosis is justified

Sello Morake

Let me take you back a few months ago when the outbreak of the deadly bacteria called listeriosis came into the spotlight, in 2017.

The minister of Health Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi spoke passionately about the outbreak of listeria, bacteria that cause food poisoning in pregnant women, children and people whom their immune system is weak to become sick on different radio platforms. Motsoaledi emphasized the need to wash hands often after going to the toilet or touching something.

At that time it had not been reported that 180 people had died due to the deadly disease because investigations were being contacted. It has now come to light that a food processing factory, Enterprise foods and tiger brands in Limpopo and in the Free State had conclusive cases of the outbreak which has caused the misery in some families. Some people are saying the responsible food processing factories of which the bacterium has been found should be sued so that affected families could be compensated.

It could have been misconstrued that the minister was just being himself talking about taking good care of oneself instead of preaching the health practices so as to avoid cure. After all, prevention is better than cure. Motsoaledi is one of the most hardworking and capable ministers in the Presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa. He is hands on and sometimes it feels like he is not the minister because he is always on the ground and knows what is going on in the health sector.

Motsoaledi announced over the weekend that certain processed foods such as polony, Russians, viennas and other sausages were contaminated and must be avoided at all cost so that lives could be saved. This decision is going to have a direct impact on the township business of selling Kota, Skhambane or Sphatlo as it is known in different parts of the country.

Kota is quarter of a loaf of bread made up of Atchaar, egg, Cheese, polony, Vienna, chips and Russian depending on what the customer wants from the seller. This is the signature daily food in the townships of South Africa whereby some families consume this food on a daily basis except for Sundays when better balanced food is cooked and served to family members.

In every township in South Africa within the radius of 200 meters there is a spaza shop selling Kota (Quarter of bread) for enterprising people. This, junk of a food is the hottest thing in the township so much that in Soweto, there is a Kota festival which is held in September of every year. It is easy to prepare because not much effort is made in making it.

Kota is the unhealthiest type of food yet the most consumed food in all places in South Africa. It has also made it into big retail stores such as Shoprite, Checkers and Pick n Pay, where it is now being sold. Kota will definitely make you full within minutes of being eaten and as you can see, it is full of oily foods which are bad for the heart and digestive system.

Most people buy Kota in the morning for breakfast, for lunch and even for super. So you can imagine how this decision of recalling polony, Russian and other cold foods are going to impact on these small enterprises in the townships.

What even exacerbates the problem of food poisoning is the fact that most of these spaza shops are near dirty places and the kitchens are often dirty. Just check how it is prepared, no one would eat the humble Kota but hunger is another beast altogether when one wants to eat. Some people don’t really make an effort in making their kitchens need and tidy and don’t bother to wash hands when they have wiped off sweat from their faces or scratched some itchy part of the body while in the kitchen.

It’s these observations that I have made when I had gone to buy the Kota that people don’t care about their work stations. Or is it because they want to serve as many people as they could so they tend to ignore the most important and basic thing to do of keeping their environment clean.

As Motsoaledi had said he contamination of processed foods could have happened at the factory or at the retail shops or at the spaza shops where the Kota is being made to a customer.

I asked a few people about their views on the minister’s suggestion that Kotas should be stopped and got mixed responses. One was an economic issue, whereby people said how would chefs who survive on running Kota business would do after it has been reported that the polonies and Russians should not be used until further notice. They cited the fact that there are no jobs and therefore no one would just stop selling because of the hysteria over listeriosis.

This one particular person said the business would continue as if nothing is happening. Others said they would continue eating their Kota no matter the decision because they don’t have time to cook a proper meal.

Surprisingly another person I spoke to said she had stopped eating Kota a long time ago after realizing that it was not good for her health as it contained a lot of fat. So it was health conscious decision for her to stop eating Kota so as she could remain healthy.

It is indeed a sad moment because people have the habit of doing more of what they are told not to do. Take a good example of drivers who often told not to drive while under the influence of liquor. They keep on driving while drinking and overspeed. People are told not to have multiple sexual relations but they do and don’t even use the condoms.

So we are praying that people could atleast change their habits and attitudes towards life in general so that they can live longer because listeriosis is really dangerous.

We, as the people need to make a vow that we change our habits by adopting simple but yet helpful acts of cleaning our environments, washing hands as often as we could and avoid expired foods.

The symptoms of the listeriosis as reported in the media are headache, diarrhea, flu-like illnesses, muscle aches, stiff necks and many more. One can get the disease from eating contaminated food and it is quiet important that one is really careful of what he puts in the mouth. Even fresh fruits should be washed before being eaten.

This listeriosis problem has actually forced us to be health conscious and we plead with those who prepare and serve us to play their part too.

I remember an incident back in the day when I had gone out with my friend to some of these fancy restaurants to dine out, I found a fly in my food. I reported the matter to the waiter and I was told I could get another meal but I refused because I had just lost appetite there and there. My stomach started acting up or was it my mind telling me not to eat that kind of food again. So from there whenever I go out I just buy drinks only and bounce off.

Many people had reported harrowing incidents at the restaurants from discovering nails or hair in their food. So eat out at your own risk because listeriosis knows no bounds. It will find you even at the fancy restaurants.

Certain health standards should be a daily habit because it is not okay to spend your own hard earned cash on food that would make you sick. Consumers should definitely get value for their money.