Abstract
Microbiological hazards pose a disproportionate threat to human health in all countries, particularly in developing countries due to under-resourced food control systems. In Eswatini, the Ministry of Health (MoH) is responsible for food control supported by other departments. The outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa in 2017 highlighted the need for effective food control systems. Eswatini depends on South Africa for its substantial food requirements, including the RTE meat products which were implicated in the listeriosis outbreak. As part of the mitigating strategy, Eswatini’s MoH embarked on consumer awareness and recalled the affected products. It was apparent the country was ill-prepared to test the products which highlighted the need to strengthen the food control systems.
