Business

Another food product pulled from shelves in South Africa

Malcolm Libera

 ·10 Jul 2026

South African consumers have been warned of another food product recall, with the National Consumer Commission (NCC) advising shoppers not to consume selected SPAR yoghurt products following a production fault.

In a consumer safety alert, the NCC said the recall was initiated after SPAR notified the regulator that a manufacturing issue had affected several yoghurt products sold nationwide.

“The National Consumer Commission (NCC) alerts consumers to the recall of selected SPAR yoghurt products as notified by SPAR,” the commission said.

The recall includes SPAR Fat Free Yoghurt, Low Fat Yoghurt, Double Cream Yoghurt, Indulge Double Cream Yoghurt and SPAR Active Drinking Yoghurt products.

According to the NCC, the affected products have sell-by dates of 9 August 2026 and use-by dates of 12 August 2026. They were sold through SPAR stores across South Africa from 15 June 2026.

SPAR told the commission that the recall was prompted by “a machine malfunction during production, resulting in product blowing.”

The retailer explained that this defect could cause noticeable changes to the yoghurt. “This may cause changes in the product’s taste, smell, and appearance,” the NCC said.

The commission added that “consumption of the affected products may cause stomach upset.”

Consumers who have purchased any of the recalled yoghurt products have been instructed not to eat them.

Instead, they should return the products to their nearest SPAR store, where they can receive a full refund or exchange. “The NCC encourages all consumers to respond promptly to product safety recalls,” the commission said.

Here is the full list of the SPAR products affected:

Growing list of food product recalls

The latest announcement is one of several food recalls issued in South Africa this year. Recently, the NCC announced the recall of Made for Tots Corn Puffs Chicken snacks, a product aimed at young children and supplied by the Clicks Group.

The retailer notified the authorities after routine testing detected Listeria contamination in one batch of the product.

A total of 1,152 units were affected. Of these, 348 had already been sold before the recall was announced, while the remaining 804 units were successfully removed from store shelves.

Although the supplier said the strain of Listeria detected is generally regarded as non-pathogenic to humans, it warned that rare cases of illness have been reported.

Consumers were advised to check for batch number 396194, manufactured on 3 March 2026 with a best-before date of 2 March 2027, to determine whether they had purchased the affected snacks.

Earlier this year, in March, the NCC also announced the recall of selected baby formula products manufactured by Nutricia.

The affected products included Aptamil Nutribiotik 2 (800g) and Aptajunior Nutribiotik 3 (800g), with 2,989 units distributed nationally by United Pharmaceutical Distributors.

The products had been available since August 2025 through major pharmacy retailers, including Clicks and Dis-Chem.

In February, another significant recall involved selected ButtaNutt peanut butter products after testing found that certain batches exceeded South Africa’s legal limit for aflatoxin.

Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by fungi that can contaminate crops such as peanuts. Because of the health risks it poses, the substance is tightly regulated under the Department of Health’s Regulation R.1145.

Short-term exposure to high levels of aflatoxin can cause symptoms including nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Long-term exposure has been linked to more serious health conditions, including liver cancer.

The affected peanut butter products had been distributed in several provinces, including Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.

The NCC continues to encourage consumers to pay attention to recall notices and to stop using or consuming affected products immediately, and to return them to retailers where appropriate. 

The products that have been recalled in 2026 so far are listed below.

SPAR yoghurt products

Citro-Soda Regular

Made for Tots Corn Puffs Chicken

Nutribiotik formulas recalled

Nestlé formula recalled in January

ButtaNutt peanut butter