Food company recalls cans on corrosion risk

Oceana Group, a South African food company, announced it had pulled some of its canned food offerings from supermarket shelves on reports that internal corrosion in some of the cans created pinholes in the tin.

The company affirmed that only a small percentage of cans used for Lucky Star mackerel in tomato sauce is potentially affected, with those produced between August 29, 2009 and September 2, 2009 representing the affected batch. Oceana said in a statement that nearly 90 percent of the possibly affected product was available for sale in the KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape markets.

Nonetheless, erring on the side of caution, Oceana recalled all 7,000 cans of the mackerel in tomato sauce still on store shelves. The food company said the "product passed all the necessary quality control tests and this was, unfortunately, a defective batch of lacquered tin plate." Gareth Lloyd-Jones, a managing director for sanitation company Ecowize, told South Africa's BusinessWorld the event highlighted the importance of a streamlined supply chain.

"The incident highlights the importance of taking quick action in the face of potential danger to consumers...companies must follow due diligence processes to prevent food safety issues," he said.