Watercress Saga – the facts
A recent article in the E.P Herald about Liver Rot from watercress caused panic in the Garden Route and Plettenberg Bay.
Dr John Black – Picture courtesy of the EP Herald
The South African Medical Journal September 2013 issue published 2 case studies, where 2 women in the Garden Route had contracted the disease ‘liver rot’.
We got in touch with Dr John Black – he has won two FIDDSSA – GlaxoSmithKline Research Fellowship Awards in 2012 – who helped answer a few questions with regards to the published article.
The text in red are our questions and the text in bold are Dr John Black’s answers:
What date / year did the 37-year-old female chef pass away?
2009
The article said you diagnosed the two women in the Garden Route last year. Is this true?
No, the cases were from 2009. At no stage in the paper or interviews were the dates mentioned.
The article mentions that the watercress in both cases was bought at a farm stall. It was never proved that the second contraction was from a farm stall. This comment damaged the reputation of farm stalls across the Garden Route.
The paper’s headline states ‘rare deadly parasite resurfaces after 50 years in two Southern Cape women who ate farm stall watercress’ Do you know if the watercress was definitely bought at a farm stall?
As mentioned in the paper, the first case definitely did eat farm stall purchased watercress. The second case only mentions watercress that was locally purchased, but does not clarify where.
Thank you to Dr John Black for contributing to this article and clearing up the facts.
Read more information and FAQ’s about Fasciola (Liver Fluke disease)
Natures Way farm stall – Judy Wilson:
“It is important to note that in 2008/09, there was a contamination of Watercress in the Garden Route area. This contaminated watercress could have been purchased from, or eaten at any food establishment, including supermarkets and restaurants in the whole Garden Route area.
As soon as the first infection came to light in early 2009, the source was isolated and controlled.
The reason we became so concerned when the news broke on Tuesday 11th September 2013, was that the article mislead the public into believing that a fresh source of contamination had arisen. This is not the case.
We, as local fresh/organic producers are committed to providing safe products to the public.”
Text by Christy Strever
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