The release of independent testing results (seen by IOL Lifestyle) has officially cleared Richester Foods’ lollipops blamed for supposedly causing a group of school children in KwaZulu-Natal to fall ill.
The sweets company is now urging health authorities to find the real cause of the health scare.
This comes after videos surfaced on social media earlier this month showing several young children needing hospital treatment in KwaMaphumulo in KwaZulu-Natal after allegedly eating Richester Foods’ Xpop Energy Red Dragon.
In one of the videos, a woman can be seen holding the lollipop, saying the kids are sick, they are vomiting, and others have lost their eyesight because of the product. She also states that a message of awareness should be made so that other parents won’t allow their children to consume the product.
Many people were left enraged by the incident. Concerned by the claims, the company subsequently launched an immediate full internal investigation into the matter and submitted lollipops from the production batch in question for independent testing.
After performing a thorough microbiological analysis on these samples, however, independent laboratory KLM High-Giene Solutions verified that the lollipops were free of any bacterial contamination or causes that could relate to ill health.
In a statement, KLM Director Khutsiso Kgole said they could confirm that, based on the test results supplied (of the specified sample), the product was clear of any of the tested Bacteria, thus rendering it microbiologically clean (from the tested organisms or bacteria).
Richester Foods Managing Director Dr Hussein Cassim said that these results come as a welcome relief, reaffirming the company’s rigorous quality, health, and safety controls.
“Quality and food safety remain our top priority, and these test results have given proof of the strength of our hygiene and safety practices. As we have noted previously, children are the very heart of our business, and we will not compromise on our manufacturing standards. Our lollipops have been firmly vindicated, and we hope that this will remove any lingering worries so that children and customers can once again feel free to enjoy our sweets without fear,” said Cassim.
The sweets company urges the Department of Health and the National Consumer Commission to look more closely into the matter to find the real cause of the children’s illness to prevent unfortunate incidents of this nature from happening again.