Buy Zimbabwe has urged Zimbabweans to adapt to consuming locally made products over poor quality imports to avoid listeriosis disease which has claimed hundreds of lives in South Africa since the beginning of the outbreak a few weeks ago.
According to Buy Zimbabwe Marketing and Business Development Manager, Gabriel Choga, the group introduced a Buy Zimbabwe Insignia which represents Zimbabwean products that are of quality and recommended standards.
“Buy Zimbabwe wishes to advise and commend that People of Zimbabwe adapt to consuming Zimbabwean made products over poor quality imports.
“Most of the poor quality products find their way illegally into Zimbabwe for consumption by unsuspecting ordinary Zimbabwe. As a way of combating such cases of having imports that are of poor quality services, Buy Zimbabwe introduced Buy Zimbabwe Insignia which represents Zimbabwean products that are of quality and recommended standards,” said Choga.
Choga also urged border authorities to be as effective as possible to make sure that foods of poor quality do not find their way into the country.
“We urge locals to adopt the buying local concept as Zimbabwe’s products are quality certified by the relevant authorities in Zimbabwe and identify quality products by the Insignia as Zimbabwean companies that are producing ready to eat meat products are certified and have their
“Health assessments standards have done periodically, hence the need to consume locally.
“With reference to The Ministry of Health and Child Care’s statement that the disease has not been recorded in the country, we would want to commend that we espouse to local products and contain such outbreaks out of our beloved country.
“We also urge our relevant authorities that man the borders to be as effective as possible to make sure that foods of poor quality do not find their way to Zimbabwean shops,” said Choga.
The South African government said producers of cold meat products were to blame for delays in tracing the cause of the world’s worst listeriosis outbreak, which has killed 180 people in the past year.
The United Nations World Health Organization called the outbreak the largest ever recorded globally, after 948 cases were reported since January 2017.
Listeria bacteria cause flu-like symptoms, nausea, diarrhea, and infection of the bloodstream and brain.
