The Ministry of Health and Social Services has announced that Top Score vanilla-flavoured instant maize porridge will be returned to retail shelves following the completion of safety tests.
This decision comes after public outcry over the reported deaths of three children in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, allegedly linked to the Namibian product.
Concerns were initially raised on social media, prompting the ministry to take swift action to safeguard public health.
According to health ministry spokesperson Walter Kamaya, on 1 October, the ministry ordered an immediate recall of the affected product.
Kamaya says environmental health practitioners across the country were instructed to remove it from retail outlets and to advise consumers to refrain from using it until investigations were completed.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, two sets of independent laboratory tests were conducted on samples of the product. Both tests confirmed that the porridge is safe for consumption.
“It is against this background that the Ministry of Health and Social Services is requesting environmental health practitioners in the ministry and local authorities to inform retailers to return back the above-mentioned food products on shelves which shelf life is still valid, and inform community members that had the products at household level that the product is safe for consumption,” he says.
Kamaya adds that the health ministry remains committed to prioritising the health and well-being of Namibian consumers.
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