Durban — Pick n Pay has recalled three brands of peanut butter from its stores around the country with immediate effect for health and safety reasons. The grocery retailer said on Saturday that it had pulled No Name Smooth Peanut Butter, Eden Smooth Peanut Butter and Eden Crunch Peanut Butter from its shelves.
The products, which are a sandwich staple in many homes, are sold throughout the country.
“Following in-house standard testing, these products were found to have higher than regulated levels of Aflatoxin, which may constitute a health risk. Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring mycotoxin, but the levels we detected were higher than the regulatory threshold,” it said.
“The health and safety of our customers is our priority. Customers who might have bought these peanut butter products are urged to return them to Pick n Pay for a full refund if any product has an expiry date between now and July 2025,” it said in a statement.
The company said only these three brands of peanut butter were affected and that they had already been removed from all its stores around South Africa. No other brands of peanut butter were affected by the recall.
It has also urged customers who had concerns to return these products whether or not they fell within the expiry date.
The company said that the National Consumer Commission and the National Department of Health and the Directorate Food Control had already been informed of the problem.
“We’re asking our customers to please check their pantries and food cupboards and make sure to return the products concerned to any Pick n Pay store for a full refund.”
Customers were encouraged to call the Pick n Pay Customer Care Line with any queries on 0860 303 030
Sunday Tribune