P'nP: Another product removed
2003-07-11 17:41
Lynn Bolin
Cape Town - Listed supermarket group Pick 'n Pay said late on Friday it was adding yet another item to the list of food products it was withdrawing from its shelves and that customers should return after testing positive for traces of cyanide, in the wake of a widening food
poisoning scandal instigated by an extortionist several weeks ago.
After earlier saying it was, as a precaution, withdrawing the 75g packet
of Maggi 2-minute cheese noodles from its shelves after one product tested
positively for traces of cyanide, Pick 'n Pay announced it was withdrawing
another flavour of Maggi 2-minute noodles - this time the chicken flavour
75g packet.
The move comes after the same customer whose child had tested positive
for traces of cyanide in their blood after eating a packet of Barbeque Fritos had also purchased two packets of Maggi 2-minute noodles 75g - one cheese and one chicken - at the same time.
This second packet was located in a cupboard at the woman's home and sent for testing, confirming very low traces of cyanide, Pick 'n Pay said.
This comes after all other blood tests, other than the original three,
had shown no traces of cyanide poisoning.
The customer bought the Fritos and two packets of 2-minute noodles at
the same store in Kensington, Gauteng.
The noodles products would be withdrawn from Pick 'n Pay stores
nationally, and customers were requested to return it with a full refund.
Pick 'n Pay CEO Sean Summers said: "The three people who were directly
affected by the activities of this consumer terrorist have been exposed to
very low levels of cyanide poisoning.
"For two of them, the blood cyanide levels have returned to normal and the third is currently undergoing further treatment."
The other products which have been withdrawn are: Pick 'n Pay No Name
Brand Sardines 120g; Pick 'n Pay Choice Garlic Flakes Bottle 100ml; Lucky Star
Pilchards in Chilli 155g; and Simba 25g Fritos Barbeque Strip Pack 4's.
Pick 'n Pay is calling on all anyone with further information please to
come forward and call them on the Pick 'n Pay reward line (011) 455 3843.
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