Enterprise Foods has withdrawn all ready-to-eat meat products and has halted production at the two factories manufacturing these products‚ parent company Tiger Brands said on Monday.

But Tiger Brands CEO Lawrence MacDougall said there had been no direct correlation between the company’s products and the 180 deaths caused by the listeriosis outbreak.

He said although the National Consumer Commission ordered Enterprise Foods to recall three products‚ the company had decided to be extra vigilant and voluntarily recall all products produced at its facilities in Germiston in Gauteng and Polokwane in Limpopo.

He said food safety remained the company’s priority.

The company had detected low traces of listeria in sample products on February 14 at its Polokwane facility, and had immediately quarantined all those products, according to MacDougall.

Listen to an extract from the press conference here: