Dis-Chem Namibia pulls peanut butter brand from shelves

Dis-Chem Namibia has confirmed that it has removed Dis-Chem Lifestyle Smooth and Crunchy peanut butter from its shelves.

This was confirmed by Dis-Chem Grove Mall health manager Paul Zah yesterday.

The South African National Consumer Commission (NCC) recently said the manufacturer of these peanut butters, House of Natural Butters, had found all the brands to have higher than legally acceptable levels of aflatoxin, which make them unsafe for human consumption.

“We have pasted notices in the shop indicating which brand type have been recalled and that customers can return any peanut butter purchased from our shops for a full refund. Whether opened, not opened, or half eaten,” he said.

Zah said the brand has been quarantined while others are also put on hold to wait for instructions from the headquarters in South Africa.

“We have certificates for them, but we have to keep them down. Customers are being told to return the brand,” he said.

Zah said the store receives its stock from the headquarters warehouse in South Africa, which is where they have imported the brand from.

Meanwhile, giant retailer Shoprite Namibia’s managing director, Paul Malan, says Shoprite does not stock the affected products.

Woermann Brock’s buying clerk, Klaudine Paavo, says the retailer does not stock products which have been recalled in SA, while Pick n Pay Namibia says it will provide a comprehensive response in due course.

This comes after certain peanut butter brands were recalled by the South African National Consumer Commission.

The commission called for urgent tests of peanut butter by all producers in the wake of some brands manufactured by House of Natural Butters being recalled.

These brands allegedly contain higher than acceptable levels of a naturally occurring mycotoxin, called aflatoxin, which has been linked to serious health complications.

Other affected brands are Dis-Chem’s Lifestyle 400g Smooth and Crunchy, Dis-Chem’s Lifestyle 800g Smooth and Crunchy, Wazoogles Superfoods (all sizes, from 32g to 20kg), Pick n Pay’s No Name 1kg Smooth, and Eden All Natural peanut butter.

News24 has reported that the issue was first flagged when Pick n Pay last week recalled No Name Smooth Peanut Butter, Eden Smooth Peanut Butter and Eden Crunch Peanut Butter after in-house standard testing by the group found the products to have higher than regulated levels of aflatoxin.

The affected products are also being returned in South Africa, with a full refund with or without proof of purchase.

KEY FACTS BY WHO

According to the World Health Organisation’s key fact notes, mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by certain moulds (fungi) and can be found in food.

Mycotoxins can cause a variety of adverse health effects and pose a serious health threat to both humans and livestock.

The adverse health effects of mycotoxins range from acute poisoning to long-term effects such as immune deficiency and cancer