Clover defends peanut butter recall timing

Clover has defended the timing of its recall of several batches of its Go Nuts peanut
butter products due to high levels of aflatoxin. This comes after the National Consumer
Commission (NCC) announced an investigation into the delay in Clover’s recall of over
10,700 400g packs of Go Nuts peanut butter sold at about 900 informal trading stores.

The NCC’s announcement came more than a month after several other peanut butter
brands, including Pick n Pay’s No Name, Dis-Chem’s Lifestyle Brand, Wazoogles, Eat
Naked, and Woolworths’ Peanut Butter Dairy Ice Cream, were recalled due to
unacceptably high aflatoxin levels.

In a statement, Clover said, “Following these recalls, the necessary tests had been run
on its Go Nuts products as a precautionary measure.” The company added, “Though
tests conducted by our manufacturer showed that our product complied with legislation,
further independent testing confirmed that the levels of aflatoxin in limited batches of our
Go Nuts Peanut Butter 400g product were indeed higher than accepted levels.”

Clover maintained that once these test results were received, they took immediate steps
to recall the affected products and notify the authorities, retailers, and consumers of the
recall. The affected batches have been “blocked” at stores countrywide, and Clover
assured that all other batches of Go Nuts Peanut Butter are safe for consumption.

“The NCC has informed us of its investigation in relation to this matter, and we are
cooperating fully with the NCC to provide it with the required information to inform its
inquiry,” Clover stated.

Consumers in possession of Clover Go Nuts Peanut Butter 400g with best-before dates
of June 12, 18, and 19 2025, and July 19 2025, are urged to stop consuming the
product and return it for a full refund.5.